I joined St. Francis College as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Fall 2021. My primary goal as an educator is to help undergraduate students maximize their potential through engaging teaching, mentorship, and faculty-guided research experiences. My passion for undergraduate education began in 2016 after completing a course at Rockefeller University, and since then I have been committed to creating learning environments that support student growth, curiosity, and success. Prior to joining St. Francis College, I taught at the University of Bridgeport, Mercy College, Rutgers University, and Bergen Community College.

Throughout my academic career, I have actively pursued innovative approaches to teaching and student learning. As an adjunct faculty member, I was selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Inclusive Excellence Fellow at Mercy College and earned certification from the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). I continue to participate in HHMI BioInteractive workshops and most recently served as an assessment builder reviewer. In addition to my scientific research, I am interested in pedagogical scholarship and have collaborated on published studies examining effective teaching practices.

I earned my Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, and completed postdoctoral training at The Scripps Research Institute under Dr. Clare Waterman, a leader in live-cell imaging and cytoskeletal biology. I later conducted research at The University of Texas Medical Branch and Weill Cornell Medical College. My research has focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying intrinsic resistance to taxanes, a widely used class of chemotherapy drugs. I have also contributed to clinical trials and collaborative projects involving cell-cycle imaging technologies.

Beyond my work at St. Francis College, I remain actively involved in the scientific community through outreach, mentoring, and professional service. I have judged local science competitions, mentored high school students through programs such as the Urban Barcode Research Program at the DNA Learning Center/Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and supervised research projects with students from Brooklyn Technical High School. Since 2023, I have also served as a reviewer for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP), helping to support and evaluate the next generation of scientists.

See Katsuhiro Kita. List of Publications