Marisol Lopez, Ph.D.

I joined the Physiology & Biophysics Program in August of 2022 as an educator. I currently support the teaching of physiology of students in programs from the Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine and the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. I am an inclusive educator and strongly believe that students benefit from a welcoming learning environment where they feel that they belong. In my role as an educator, I find ways to make content more accessible by relating the material to students lives and prior knowledge. I use active learning activities for students to better understand complex concepts. I provide opportunities for students to apply the concepts learned in class to cases they may encounter in their future professional careers to continue the development of critical thinking skills. I am looking forward to my increased responsibilities with time in the areas of curriculum planning, leading the teaching of endocrine physiology, mentoring, and academic advising.

Earlier Research:

My research interests are in the fields of aging and endocrinology. I started my graduate research career characterizing prolactin and growth-hormone secretion from the anterior pituitary gland of male and female chickens and the cellular basis for increased prolactin secretion in hens exhibiting incubation behavior. For my doctoral degree, I studied age-related mitochondrial DNA deletions and their involvement in skeletal muscle mass loss in rhesus monkeys. Through my histological research I found an association among skeletal muscle fibers exhibiting abnormalities of the electron transport system, deletions of the mitochondrial genome and fiber atrophy.  For my postdoctoral studies I continued my research in the field of endocrinology by studying the regulation of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) gene expression in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus in mice. I characterized the transcriptional regulation of TRH by thyroid hormone using and in vivo model and histological techniques.

Current Research:

As I transitioned from bench research to my role as an educator, my research interests shifted. The percentage of STEM professionals and those in health care careers coming from underrepresented groups does not match the national demographics. My research interests include learning more about the barriers students from underrepresented groups face entering and persisting in higher education, the importance of sense of belonging on student retention, the effects of pathway programs developed to increase the diversity in these fields and investigating the contribution of legislation to these disparities.

Links:

Faculty Profile
ResearchGate
BU Profile

Contact Us

Marisol Lopez
Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics
Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
700 Albany Street, W408H
Boston MA 02118-2526

Phone:(617) 358-8474
e-mail: mlopez@bu.edu