Feature Stories
Louisa A. Stark, '79
Dr. Louisa A. Stark is a leader in genetics and genomics education,
having made notable contributions to the field of science education
that are of national and international significance. She is the
director of the University of Utah’s Genetic Science Learning Center.
She also serves the University of Utah as a clinical professor of
Science Education and associate director of the School of Medicine’s
Community Engagement Core Center for Clinical and Translational
Sciences.
Stark earned a bachelor of science in biology from
Grand Valley State University in 1979, where she spent several years
as a teacher assistant. This role provided the foundation for her
interest in becoming an educator and ignited her ongoing interest in
facilitating learning for others.
Following graduation, she
worked for six years as a research assistant and laboratory manager in
the neurophysiology research laboratory at the University of Colorado
at Boulder. She was accepted into UCB’s graduate school and earned a
Ph.D. in evolutionary genetics in 1992. Her graduate work was
supported in part by a highly-competitive and prestigious pre-doctoral
fellowship from the National Science Foundation.
During her
final year in graduate school, she began work with the UCB Hughes
Biological Science Education Initiative (HBSEI), promoting science in
Denver’s inner-city high schools and conducting professional
development workshops for teachers in the area. This work sparked her
passion for science education and the focus of her career.
After earning her doctoral degree, Stark worked as a
scientist-in-residence, a position which she helped create for HBSEI,
and significantly expanded the organization’s science education
outreach and professional development programs for area teachers. She
eventually advanced to the role of senior scientist.
In
1999, she began work for the Genetic Science Learning Center at the
University of Utah. The Center is a science education outreach and
partnership program with the mission of “making science easy for
everyone to understand.” Under her direction, the center has gained a
national and international reputation for producing high-quality
educational materials and offering teacher professional development
programs. It is best known for its Learn. Genetics website, the most
widely-disseminated genetics education site in the world. The site
provides easy-to-understand educational materials focused on genetics,
life science, and health. In addition to the educational materials it
produces, the Center annually provides professional development for
over 600 primary and secondary teachers throughout the world.
For her marked contributions to science education, Stark has
received numerous recognitions from prestigious groups, including the
American Society of Human Genetics’ Award for Excellence in Human
Genetics Education, and the Utah Science Teachers Association’s
lifetime achievement award. She has held numerous elected positions in
national organizations and served on various national boards and
committees. She is an accomplished grantmaker and author, and her
expertise is sought internationally through consultations, invited
lectures and presentations, and to organize national meetings.
Stark and her husband currently reside in Salt Lake City, UT.
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