Beth Beason-Abmayr is a Full Teaching Professor of BioSciences at Rice University. She earned a B.S. in Microbiology from Auburn University and a Ph.D. in Physiology & Biophysics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She teaches multiple courses, including course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) and a student-centered course in comparative animal physiology, and is a co-PI on the Rice REU in Biomolecular Networks. With support from the Rice Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry, she and her colleagues focus on mapping, implementing, and enhancing inquiry in the Biochemistry and Cell Biology curriculum. A founding leader of the Rice iGEM team, she has been a faculty advisor since 2006. Beth has been judging iGEM since 2011, including co-head judge at two regional jamborees, and has served on the Executive Judging Committee since 2014. She is co-chair of the American Physiological Society – Institute of Teaching and Learning (APS-ITL) and is an Associate Editor for Advances in Physiology Education.

WEBSITE(S)| Personal Website
Education
B.S. in Microbiology, Auburn University, 1990
Ph.D. in Physiology & Biophysics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1996
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Vanderbilt University, 1996-98
Honors & Awards
CTE Faculty Fellow, 2019-22
National Academies Education Mentor in the Life Sciences, 2012-20
Teaching Award for Excellence in Inquiry-Based Learning, 2019
George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching, 2017
iGEM World Championship Jamboree Inaugural Judges’ Prize, 2012
BEN Scholar, 2012
National Academies Education Fellow in the Life Sciences, 2011-12