Dr. Russo-Tait is an Assistant Professor in the Cellular Biology Department at the University of Georgia, where she leads the ACCESS Lab (Advancing Critical Consciousness, Equity, and Social Justice in STEM). She has a BA in Cell Biology from the University of Hawai’i at Hilo, and MS in Stem Cell Biology from San Francisco State University. Before attaining a PhD in STEM Education at the University of Texas at Austin, she was a program director at the Center for Science and Math Education and instructional faculty in the College of Science and Engineering at San Francisco State University. She taught undergraduate courses in biology and health equity, co-developed biology and social justice curricula, and led professional development workshops on student-centered teaching practices and equity issues in STEM. Her lived experiences as a first generation to college, immigrant, Latinx biology student in the U.S., and her subsequent work with students from minoritized backgrounds in STEM motivated her to pursue scholarship in the field so that she could contribute to the larger body of knowledge and national conversation on using asset-based and justice-oriented approaches that best support STEM students and prepare STEM educators.
Dr. Russo-Tait engages in interdisciplinary and collaborative research projects employing various methodological approaches to examine equity and justice issues in biology and other fields in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education. Research projects currently involve two strands. The first examines the intersectional experiences and perspectives of students from minoritized backgrounds in STEM learning environments. The second explores the role of STEM educators' beliefs and practices in promoting equity, and how to best support them in developing a critical consciousness and engaging in justice-oriented approaches to teaching and learning.
