Leah Okumura

Since I was in high school I have been fascinated with the processes by which a single cell is able to give rise to the hundreds of different cell types in the human body (and other organisms too!). My research training has spanned a broad range of topics in cell and developmental biology, from cell signaling in the developing chick brain (undergrad), to mammalian germ cell fate determination (PhD thesis), to the molecular basis of cyclical parthenogenesis in Daphnia magna (here at Wellesley) and kinetochore composition in human mitosis (recent professional development leave at MIT). I remain particularly fascinated with the biology of germ cells, the only cells in the body that contribute genetic information to the subsequent generation.

I am passionate about curricular design both at the departmental or major level and at the individual course and activity level. I love thinking about and designing more effective ways to teach particular topics as well as biology as a whole, and have served on the Department's Curriculum Committee for many of my years at Wellesley. I have wanted to become an educator pretty much my entire life, so I am thrilled to work with students in lectures and labs in Introductory Cell and Molecular Biology, as well as Genetics; and labs in Introductory Organismal Biology, Developmental Biology, Evolution, and Cell Biology.

Outside of the Science Center I spend a lot of time outdoors, especially biking and hiking locally and in the Adirondacks. I also sing in a choir and enjoy fiber arts, currently including knitting and, more recently, hand-weaving on a multi-shaft floor loom.

Education

• B.A., University of Chicago
• Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology