Ayesha Khan - School of Interdisciplinary Science

Ayesha Khan

Contact Info

Title:

Associate Director (Curriculum & Pedagogy)

Office:

GSB 105B

Phone:

(905) 525-9140 ext. 22619

Email:

...

Summary

Associate Director (Curriculum & Pedagogy),

Joint Appointment, Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour

Dr. Ayesha Khan has a Ph.D. in behavioural neuroendocrinology during which she investigated the influence of in utero, dietary, and social factors on time to sexual maturity in developing females. Her research has been published in journals such as Reproduction, Physiology & Behavior, Reproduction, Fertility and Development, Hormones and Behavior, and Hormone and Metabolic Research. Her passion for teaching is largely driven by the interactions she has with the enthusiastic and inquisitive students she meets on a regular basis. She teaches a variety of courses covering topics such as animal behaviour, physiology of reproductive behaviour, and neuropsychology. Dr. Khan has taught in the Life Sciences program since 2013. Her teaching has been recognized through the McMaster Student Union Award for her work in community engaged education as well as through the McMaster President's Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching and Learning.

Research Interests:

Student experience with community-engaged education; impact of institutional policies on student mental health; hormones and behaviour.

Courses

LIFESCI 2D03

LIFESCI 3E03

LIFESCI 4X03

Research

Dr. Khan's research interests explore ways through which the undergraduate student experience is enhanced by incorporating experiential education in large enrollment courses. As part of a multi-institutional initiative, she is also investigating the impact of the newly implemented Fall Break on student mental health. She has received funding from the Forward With Integrity Initiative at McMaster University to create an online strategy to disseminate information about community-engaged education. In previous years, she has served as a Research Fellow at the Paul R. MacPherson Institute for Leadership, Innovation & Excellence in Teaching.

Publications

Selected Publications in Educational Research
Khan, A., Poole, H., Beaton, E.A. (2018). The Impact of a Fall Break on Stress Physiology in First-Year Engineering Students. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 9 (2). Retrieved from https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cjsotl_rcacea/vol9/iss2/9

Poole, H., Khan, A., Agnew, M.J., Ghilic, I, & Smith, A. (2017) Disrupting the calendar: Measuring the impacts of a week-long fall break on stress and academic success in undergraduate students. The European Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Conference Proceedings, p. 197. Retrieved from http://konferens.ht.lu.se/eurosotl-2017/proceedings/

Selected Publications in Behavioural Endocrinology
deCatanzaro, D., Berger R.G., Guzzo, A.C., & Thorpe, J.B., Khan, A. (2013). Perturbation of male sexual behavior in mice (Mus musculus) within a discrete range of perinatal bisphenol-A doses in the context of a high- or low-phytoestrogen diet. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 55, 164-171. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2012.12.046.

Khan, A., Berger R, G., & deCatanzaro, D. (2009). Preputialectomised and intact adult male mice exhibit an elevated urinary ratio of oestradiol to creatinine in the presence of developing females, whilst promoting uterine and ovarian growth of these females. Reproduction, Fertility and Development, 21, 860-868. doi: 10.1071/RD08299

deCatanzaro D., Khan, A., Berger R.G., & Lewis, E., (2009). Exposure to Developing Females Induces Polyuria, Polydipsia and Altered Urinary Levels of Creatinine, 17?-Estradiol, and Testosterone in Adult Male Mice (Mus musculus). Hormones and Behavior, 55, 240-247. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2008.10.013.

Muir, C.C., Treasurywala, K., Taylor, L., McAllister, S., Dukas, L., Berger, R.G., Khan, A., & deCatanzaro, D. (2008). Enzyme Immunoassay of Testosterone, 17?-Estradiol, and Progesterone in Perspiration and Urine of Preadolescents and Young Adults: Exceptional Levels in Men's Axillary Perspiration. Hormone and Metabolic Research, 40, 819-826. doi: 10.1055/s-0028-1082042.

Khan, A., Berger R.G., & deCatanzaro, D. (2008). The onset of puberty in female mice as reflected in urinary steroids and uterine/ovarian mass: interactions of exposure to males, phyto-oestrogen content of diet, and ano-genital distance. Reproduction, 135, 99-106. doi: 10.1530/REP-07-0314.

Khan, A., Bellefontaine, N., & deCatanzaro, D. (2008). Onset of sexual maturation in female mice as measured in behavior and fertility: Interactions of exposure to males, phytoestrogen content of diet, and ano-genital distance. Physiology & Behavior, 3, 588-594. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.10.019

deCatanzaro, D., Beaton, E.A., Khan, A., & Vella, E. (2006). Urinary17-?oestradiol and testosterone levels from novel male mice approach values sufficient to disrupt early pregnancy in nearby inseminated females. Reproduction, 132, 309-317. doi: 10.1530/rep.1.00965.

Beaton, E.A., Khan, A., & deCatanzaro, D. (2006). Urinary sex steroids during sexual development in female mice and in proximate novel males. Hormone and Metabolic Research, 38, 501-506. doi: 10.1055/s-2006-949521