Patrick Willoughby

  • Ph.D., University of Minnesota
  • B.S., University of Northern Iowa

I am an Associate Professor of Chemistry with a particular focus on organic synthesis. I teach Organic Chemistry courses along with Catalyst 120. I enjoy mentoring research students in the development of new methods for the synthesis of pharmaceutically-relevant molecules.

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Barbara Sisson

  • Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute (formerly Children’s Memorial Research Center), Chicago, Illinois
  • Ph.D., Northwestern University
  • B.A., Lake Forest College

I am a developmental biologist interested in how cartilage cells get their shape. My lab studies this using zebrafish as a model system for human facial birth defects. I teach Introductory Biology, Scientific Writing and Communication, Cell Biology, Developmental Biology, and Cancer Biology.

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Mark Kainz

  • Postdoctoral scientist (plant virology), University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Postdoctoral fellow (bacteriology), University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Ph.D., Cornell University, Ithaca, New York (biochemistry, molecular and cell biology)
  • M.S., Washington State University, Pullman, Washington (plant pathology)
  • B.S., University of Portland, Portland, Oregon (biology)

I have been a faculty member at Ripon since 2008 and I love my job. I am interested in molecular biology and virology. My research students and I study the mechanics of how RNA is synthesized in bacteria and the factors that control how new virus particles are assembled in a virus infected cell. I teach Genetics and Microbiology every year and Molecular Biology and Virology every few years. I am also a member of the staff that teach our Introductory Biology and our Scientific Writing & Communication classes. I am a mentor for the Applied Innovation Seminar that is the capstone of our Catalyst curriculum. I teach another Catalyst class called “Bring out your dead: Infectious disease through history” that Professor Matzke from our history department and I developed together. I am part of the team that oversees the Catalyst curriculum, Ripon’s skill-based general education curriculum.

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Colleen Byron

  • Ph.D., analytical chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • B.A., chemistry, College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota

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