Ph.D. Biology & Former Professor — Biology, A&P, Science

Janne P.

Hi, my name is Janne, and I'm a Biology Professor with a Ph.D. in Biology from Temple University. I specialize in High School Biology and Science, College Biology, and Anatomy & Physiology, with particular experience supporting nursing, pre-med, and PA-track students.

I can tell you about my background and pedagogical training (see the end of this section), but I'd rather tell you how I teach. As a Professor, I tried to break away from traditional lectures where I could, supplementing them with helpful material, exercises, and discussion. I know how hard Biology, Anatomy, and Physiology can be — I watched students struggle with these subjects every semester. They're difficult, and they build the foundation of your knowledge in the health professions. Your first instinct is usually to memorize everything, but memorization only gets you so far. In class and office hours, I focused on making sure the underlying concepts were understood, using examples, analogies, and exercises.

My goal is to help you understand the material in a way that goes beyond memorization. We'll use different tools, exercises, models (real and virtual), and discussions to build your skills and knowledge. My motto was that if my door was open, you could walk in — if closed, knock, call, or email, and I'd answer within 24 hours. Being approachable was my goal then, and it still is now.

My academic training includes the NSF GK-12 program at Florida Tech, the Teaching in Higher Education certification at Temple, and the NIH IRACDA program at Tufts. I also hold an M.S. in Marine Biology from Florida Tech and a B.S. in Marine Biology from USF. I spent five years as an Assistant Professor at Barry University teaching undergraduate coursework.

My experience spans classroom teaching, one-on-one research mentorship, and hands-on K-12 science outreach — always aimed at making difficult concepts easy to understand.