Jocelyne Dolce
Instructor in Biological Sciences Laboratory
Background in functional and evolutionary morphology of vertebrates (i.e., how vertebrate forms relate to function and evolution); teaches introductory cell and organismal biology and comparative physiology and anatomy of vertebrates.
My research background in graduate school was in functional and evolutionary morphology of vertebrates, which means that I studied how vertebrate forms relate to function and evolution. Throughout my undergraduate and graduate career, I specifically focused on the evolution and mechanics of gill ventilation in sharks. While in graduate school, I developed a passion for teaching biology to undergraduate students, and this passion brought me to teach biology laboratories at Wellesley College.
I currently teach sections of biology laboratory for several courses, including Introductory Cell Biology and Introductory Organismal Biology as well as Comparative Physiology and Anatomy of Vertebrates. I also greatly enjoy providing academic advising to students and sharing my experiences in research. I strongly believe in the importance of promoting literacy in, and enthusiasm for, science among young children. Thus, I am active in the Wellesley College Science Outreach Program that brings science programming to children on and off campus. I am the coordinator for the Science Club for Girls program, in which Wellesley College students provide hands-on science curricula to girls of under-represented groups in Boston and Cambridge. It's an excellent program that continues to grow each year!
While I spend a majority of my time in the classroom, I keep myself up to date on current news and research in functional and evolutionary morphology. I am always in search of new techniques or exercises that can be incorporated into our laboratories. As such, I regularly attend research and education conferences that I think will be fruitful and provide ideas that I can bring back to Wellesley College.
