Caroline Crocker, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Dr. Crocker came on board as the Executive Director of the IDEA Center in early 2008. Caroline Crocker's primary role as Executive Director will be to work with students involved with IDEA Clubs around the country. For more information, please contact Dr. Crocker at caroline@ideacenter.org.

A trained biologist who loves working with students, she did her post-doctoral studies in analysis of fluorescence resonance energy transfer interactions between proteins of the T-cell receptor/NF-kappaB signal transduction pathway at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, MD. While doing a Ph.D. in immunopharmacology as an external student at Southampton University, U.K., Dr. Crocker worked at Creighton University, Omaha, NE as a research associate, bringing in numerous grants, conducting basic immunology research, and publishing extensively. She received an M.Sc. in medical microbiology from Birmingham University, U.K, a B.Sc. in microbiology and virology from Warwick University, U.K., and an A.A. from Des Moines Area Community College, IA, having graduated from high school at the age of 16.

Dr. Crocker taught various biology courses for five years at George Mason University (GMU) and Northern Virginia Community College. While at GMU, she won three grants, including one from the Center for Teaching Excellence, and she received commendations for high student ratings and wrote a cell biology workbook. For more information, see "Dr. Caroline Crocker Named First Executive Director of the IDEA Center."