Lisa Cuchara, PhD

Lisa Cuchara, PhD
Professor of Biomedical Sciences
BS, SUNY College New Paltz, New Paltz, NY 
MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
MS, PhD, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY

I have several research projects going on in the field of infectious diseases: Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, The Role of Fomites (inanimate objects that “germs”) in Disease Transmission, Commensals & Opportunistic Bacteria, and my current favorite: Vaccines & Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. My bacterial research interests include: the presence of antibiotic resistance genes in water, soil & food, the existence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria on fomites in both the public & healthcare venues, MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), the colonization of bacterial species in healthy individuals, nosocomial infections, and new emerging diseases caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. These projects include techniques such as bacterial culturing via aseptic techniques, selective & differential biochemical testing, antibiotic resistance testing, DNA extraction, PCR amplification (mainly for virulence & antibiotic resistance genes, 16s rRNA bacterial genotyping, etc.

Since summer 2007 I have had >150 QU undergraduate & graduate students involved in my different research projects. My research students have presented many posters at the QU Student Research and Inquiry Poster Sessions and the QU Annual Inter-Professional Poster Day. They have also presented more than 20 research presentations at scientific conferences outside of Quinnipiac (regional and National Sigma XI Conferences, CT Public Health Association Conference, regional and National American Society of Microbiology (ASM) Conferences.

I am a Professor in the Dept. of Biomedical Sciences. I believe that the love of learning and “the big picture” are more important than just filling a student’s head with facts that are only retained until the exam takes place. Hence my teaching philosophy: "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire". Everyone talks about IQ and now EQ, but CQ and PQ are equally important (curiosity & passion quotients). I like to make science interesting and relevant to everyday life. My philosophy is that learning is an active process involving an intellectual presence. I am very passionate about creating “citizen scientists” and incorporate this into all of my classes. I did my post-doc at the National Cancer Institute. From there I went to Yale University School of Medicine as first the supervisor & then the director of the Histocompatibility Laboratory (testing for organ and bone marrow transplants and autoimmune diseases and research on the alloimmune response and chronic graft rejection).

At QU I have taught a variety of classes (current courses bring taught are in italics & an * indicated courses that I developed at QU)  including the undergraduate courses: The World of Microbes (BMS110), General Microbiology Lab (BMS370L), Pathogenic Microbiology (BMS372), Clinical Immunology (HSC375)*, Immunology (BMS375), Infections of Leisure (BMS473)*, The Power of Plagues (BMS474)*, Vaccines (BMS378)*, and Epidemiology (BMS319)* and the Graduate courses: Immunology of Infectious Diseases (BMS596), Immunohematology (BMS561), Pathogenic Microbiology (BMS572), Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (BMS596)*, Transplantation Immunology (BMS595)*, Vaccine Preventable Diseases (BMS525)*, and Biomedical Photography (PA526). I also oversee students taking various independent studies, thesis and research (BMS482, BMS483, BMS 398, BMS399, BMS474, BMS688, BMS689, BMS650, BMS651, HSC398, HSC399).

Back to BMS Faculty & Faculty Research

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)