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Hannah Alexander

Adjunct Associate Professor of Biological Sciences
PhD, 1992 University of Missouri

Email: alexanderh@missouri.edu
Office: 304 Tucker Hall
Phone: 573-529-4020
Additional: Website
Headshot of Hannah Alexander

Research

Research summary

Science outreach programs for adult audiences.

Research description

My interest is in promoting the public’s understanding and appreciation of the role of science in our everyday lives. My activities center around generating opportunities and providing training for students to enable them to explain science to the general public.

In the past few years I have been instrumental in developing two graduate courses in the Division of Biological Science, and a graduate certificate program.

Public Understanding of Science - a graduate course/workshop in which students prepare lay language presentation about topics of their choice, depicting the role of science in these issues, and then take the presentation to adult audiences in the community.

Integrating Science with Outreach - a vehicle for graduate students to acquire academic credit for Science Outreach related activities they are involved with.

Science Outreach Certificate - a graduate certificate based on 6 credit hours of academic work, and 6 credit hours of Outreach activities.

My current activities center around initiating these courses in other universities, to promote Science Outreach in and outside Missouri.

I have adopted “Public Understanding of Science” to an undergraduate course at Westminster College in Fulton Missouri, and I was recently named to the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Outreach Committee, which aims to enhance the ability of its members to participate in science outreach.

Select Publications

Select Publications

Alexander, S., Swatson, W.S., Alexander, H. (2013) Pharmacogenetics of resistance to cisplatin and other anticancer drugs and the role of sphingolipid metabolism. Methods in Molecular Biology, 983:185-204

Alexander, H. Waldron, A. and Abell, S. (2011) Science and Me – A student driven science outreach program for lay adult audiences. Journal of College Science Teaching 40 (6): 38-44.

Alexander, S, and Alexander, H. (2011) Lead genetic studies in Dictyostelium discoideum and translational studies in human cells demonstrate that sphingolipids are key regulators of sensitivity to cisplatin and other anticancer drugs. Seminars in Cell. and Dev. Biol. 1 97-104.

Alexander, H. and Abell, S. (2010) Science and Me: Intergenerational interaction rewards both sides. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships 8 (1): 79-82.

Sridevi, P., Alexander, H., Laviad, E.L., Min, J., Mesika, A., Hannink, M., Futerman, A.H., Alexander, S. Stress-induced ER to Golgi translocation of ceramide synthase 1 is dependent on proteasomal processing. (2010), Exp. Cell Res. 316, 78-91. epub. October 2, 2009.

Sridevi, P., Alexander, H., Laviad, E.L., Pewzner-Jung, Y., Hannink, M., Futerman, A.H., Alexander, S. (2009) Ceramide synthase 1 is regulated by proteasomal mediated turnover. Biochem. Biophys. Acta, 1793: 1218-1227.

Min, J., Mesika, A., Sivaguru, M., Van Veldhoven, P.P., Alexander, H., Futerman, A.H., and Alexander, S. (2007) (Dihydro)ceramide Synthase 1–regulated sensitivity to cisplatin is associated with the activation of p38 MAP kinase and is abrogated by sphingosine kinase 1. Mol Cancer Res 5: 801-812. (Cover article)

Van Driessche, N., Alexander, H., Min, J., Kuspa, A., Alexander, S., and Shaulsky, G. (2007) Global transcriptional responses to cisplatin in Dictyostelium discoideum identify potential drug targets. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104(39) 15406-11.

Honors & Awards

Selected honors and awards

ASBMB Public Outreach Committee Member 2012