Kimberley Dej - School of Interdisciplinary Science

Kimberley Dej

Contact Info

Title:

Associate Professor

Office:

TAB 104H

Phone:

(905) 525-9140 ext. 26301

Email:

...

Summary

Associate Professor

Associate Member, Biology

Dr. Kim Dej completed her undergraduate at the University of Toronto (St. George) in the Molecular Genetics program with a Major in Zoology and a Minor in Botany. During this time she developed an interest in genetics, chromosome structure, and transposable elements. She completed her PhD at Johns Hopkins University with Allan Spradling (Carnegie Institute of Washington) and went on to be a postdoctoral fellow at MIT with Terry Orr-Weaver (Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research). She joined the McMaster community in 2004 where her teaching has focused on genetics, cell biology, research methods, undergraduate laboratory experiences, in addition to community engagement and science communication. Dr. Dej has taught in the Life Sciences program since 2009 and she has been a part of the evolution of the program. She has won several teaching awards including the McMaster President's Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching and Learning, a McMaster Student Union Award (Science), an OCUFA Teaching Award, and a YWCA Woman of Distinction Award for Education and Mentorship.

Research Interests:

nematode biodiversity; authentic lab research and the undergraduate experience; peer-mentorship and undergraduate student engagement; digital storytelling and student learning

Courses

CMTYENGA2A03: Foundations in Community Engagement

LIFESCI4N03 (Visualizing Science)

LIFESCI2G03: Genes, Genomes, and Society

Discovery Program (through Arts & Science program)

Research

Dr. Dej's lab research with undergraduate students has focused on the cell cycle in Drosophila melanogaster and biodiversity in nematode species. In 2015 Dr. Dej became a MacPherson Teaching Fellow, which has allowed her to identify and expand independent undergraduate research opportunities on campus. This has been possible by focusing on training (the interactive Nematode Diversity Project eBook lab manual), space (The Applied Learning Lab for Undergraduate Research Excellence, or ALLURE), and funding (small grants that encourage peer-learning and collaboration in undergraduate thesis research). This is part of her broader interest in providing authentic research opportunities embedded in courses for undergraduates even in large courses and assessing the role these experiences play in engaging students. These opportunities are illustrated by development of the Amylase Gene Project (with Alastair Tracey, BIOL1A03), Personal Genome Testing (with Mihaela Georgescu, MOLBIOL2C03), and the development of the Living Systems Lab in the School of Interdisicplinary Science (various student, staff, and faculty collaborators, LIFESCI2L03 & LIFESCI3L03). In 2016 to 2018, Dr. Dej was a MIIETL Leadership in Teaching and Learning (LTL) Fellow. She has used this as an opportunity to partner with students in curriculum development, including assessing the impact on student engagement and learning of cohort-building and scaffolded peer-mentorship within interdisciplinary streams in the Life Sciences program. In partnership with the McMaster Children and Youth University (MCYU) and MacPherson student partners, Dr. Dej is leading the development of ebooks for elementary and middle-school students. Within this project, research is focused upon measuring the impact of the interactive digital storytelling on the learning in addition to the impact of community-engaged learning on university students.

Publications

Alsop, R.A, A. Soomro, Y. Zhang, M. Pieterse, A. Fatona; K. Dej, and M. C. Rheinstadter. (2016) Structural Abnormalities in the Hair of a Patient with a Novel Ribosomopathy PLoS ONE 11(3): e0149619. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0149619

Chong, M., L. Goff, and K.J. Dej. 2012. Undergraduate Essay Writing: Online and Face-to-Face Peer Reviews. Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching. 5: 69-74.

Resnick, T.D., K.J. Dej, Y. Xiang, R.S. Hawley, C. Ahn, and T.L. Orr-Weaver. 2009. Mutations in the Chromosomal Passenger Complex and the Condensin Complex Differentially Affect Synaptonemal Complex Disassembly and Metaphase I Configuration in Drosophila Female Meiosis. Genetics. 181(3): 875-887.

Dej, K.J., C. Ahn and T.L. Orr-Weaver. 2004. Mutations in the Drosophila condensin dCAP-G: defining the role for chromosome condensation in mitosis and gene expression in interphase. Genetics. 16(2): 895-906.

Dej, K.J. and T.L. Orr-Weaver. 2000. Separation anxiety at the centromere. Trends Cell Biol. 10(9):392-399.

Dej, K.J. and A.C. Spradling. 1999. The endocycle controls nurse cell polytene chromosome structure during Drosophila oogenesis. Development. 126(2): 293-303.

Dej, K.J., T. Gerasimova, V. Corces and J. Boeke. 1998. A hotspot for the Drosophila gypsy retroelement in the ovo locus. NAR 26(17): 4019-4024.

Teaching Innovation