Megan Browning Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Bio
Ph.D. Chemistry (Biological emphasis), University of Utah
M.S. Biochemistry, Brigham Young University
B.S. Biochemistry, Brigham Young University
Areas of Expertise
Biochemistry
Analytical Chemistry
Science of Teaching and learning
Courses I Teach
Comprehensive Biochemistry (CH-321)
Biochemistry I (CH-325)
Biochemistry II (CH-327)
I started as a teaching assistant for organic chemistry labs. I was a teaching assistant for every lab the Brigham Young University biochemistry program offered, including general chemistry, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, protein biochemistry and DNA biochemistry. I have been a student lecturer for the organic chemistry lab. As a Master’s student I was a lecturer for organic chemistry lab.
I taught pre-calculus and chemistry labs at a charter school in Orem.
As a visiting professor at Brigham Young University-Idaho I taught general chemistry and general science.
Learn more about Professor Browning here.
My top priority as chemistry teacher is always first and foremost the physical and mental safety of my students. Once the safety of everyone is assured, my priorities are to nurture future scientists by ensuring accessibility and encouraging curiosity through purposeful student-centered learning.
Research
Undergraduate Research Projects – Green synthesis, Unregulated drugs, and Teaching research
Green synthesis:
Biochemical tools such as fluorescent phosphatase probe pCAP, suffer from inefficient and wasteful synthesis protocols. We aim to collaborate with the Barrios group to design an new and improved greener synthesis of pCAP
Unregulated drugs:
In 2012 Americans spent an estimated $13 billion dollars on dietary supplements and $157 billion dollars on cosmetics.5,6 These products are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In my research lab, students will be able to interrogate products using analytical chemistry to assess the purity and identity of products that are not regulated by the FDA. These projects will help students understand how science can impact their everyday lives and how they can use science to make informed decisions, as well as providing them with practical, hands-on experience that will prepare them for future employment.
Teaching research:
The science of teaching and learning is changing as artificial intelligence improves. We plan to research how to use artificial intelligence productively in the classroom and how to design hands-on demonstrations to help solidify student learning.
Awards and Recognitions
2016 Dow Chemical First-Year Scholarship Award
2014 Brigham Young University-Idaho Faculty Recognition Award