Seeking AP Bio students to join a biology research project on CRISPR

Ryan D.

Research mentoring -CRISPR Academy

Dear Dr. Doonan, I am extremely grateful for the mentorship and guidance you have provided through the CRISPR Academy. Working with you completely changed how I understand scientific research and what it means to think like a scientist rather than just complete assignments. Through this experience, I learned how to move from a question to a testable hypothesis, design experiments thoughtfully, analyze real data, and revise my thinking based on results. You pushed me to understand why experiments work, not just how to run them. I especially appreciated how you encouraged me to read primary literature, ask deeper questions, and connect experimental results to broader biological mechanisms like epigenetic regulation. Your mentoring also helped me grow as a writer and communicator of science. With your feedback, I learned how to clearly explain my work, respond to critiques, and refine my writing to the level required for publication. Being able to publish my research in Micropublication Biology was an incredible experience and something I would not have thought possible as a high school student before joining the CRISPR Academy. What sets your mentorship apart is how approachable, patient, and genuinely supportive you are. You create an environment where students feel comfortable asking questions, making mistakes, and learning from them. Your encouragement gave me the confidence to take ownership of my project and see myself as a real contributor to scientific research. The CRISPR Academy has been one of the most meaningful academic experiences I’ve had. It strengthened my interest in biology and research and gave me skills that I know will be valuable far beyond high school. Thank you for investing so much time and care into mentoring your students and helping us grow as scientists. Best, Ryka

Ryka, 23 lessons with Ryan

Excellent!

Helped me break down college-level neuroscience topics better in one hour than what my prof taught us in 4 hours worth of lecture. He truly understands the concepts exceptionally and his knowledge of bio, chem, and physics is extensive. You will definitely leave your session feeling a lot more confident in these subjects!

Kira, 5 lessons with Ryan

Great study guides

Dr. D created super helpful lecture summaries for my asynchronous summer course. The course was totally online with only lecture videos and slide decks as learning tools. We were covering like a chapter per day of the textbook and it was just impossible to keep up with all the material. He sent me summaries of each slide so I could quickly evaluate the point of each slide and what I was supposed to know. This cut my studying time in half. I also sent him all my course quizzes and he used them to create a practice exam with similar types of questions. This was also pretty helpful. It would have been more helpful if the professor’s questions on the actual exam weren’t all over the place and totally unpredictable. Turnaround was fast too. I’d send him a lecture and he’d send me a summary the next day. Definitely worth it.

Lucia, 14 lessons with Ryan

Cell Biology

Ryan is an amazing tutor. He is highly flexible and available. You can tell that he cares and wants you to succeed and that he is extremely intelligent and educated. Additionally, he is helpful and honest. I would highly recommend him to anyone that is aquiring a tutor in any biology course. I would like to thank him for his time, assistance, guidance, and advice! :)

Mason, 2 lessons with Ryan

Knowledgeable neuroscience professor

Really helpful tutor for my neurobiology course. He was great at explaining the math, chemistry, and cell biology of membrane potentials. If you need to understand patch and voltage clamping techniques or intracellular recording, he has actually done these experiments and can explain them in a simple way. Later in the semester he helped me with synaptic transmission and calcium sensing. He definitely knows a lot about the subject and the practice questions he gave me to prepare for my exams were helpful.

Nova, 14 lessons with Ryan

Very helpful tutor for cell biology

My cell biology class covers research methods and requires designing and analyzing experiments. Ryan has been super helpful with this because he understands all the methods and helps me make sense of the figures from the research articles. With his help I went from a C to an A on the 2nd exam. Also just want to add he’s really nice and always tries to make sure I understand the material.

William, 8 lessons with Ryan

Outstanding Tutor for Advanced Biology

I highly recommend Ryan, who has been an exceptional tutor for tutoring my daughter in advanced biology. His extensive knowledge of the subject matter is evident, and he demonstrates a clear teaching style. Ryan's flexibility in accommodating our challenging schedule was outstanding, making him very easy to work with. He was consistently responsive and dedicated to ensuring she received the support when needed. I highly recommend Ryan for any student facing difficulties with an advanced biology curriculum; his expertise and commitment to student success make him an invaluable resource.

Aisha, 1 lesson with Ryan

Very helpful in understanding Genetics

Ryan is a great tutor! He is very responsive and flexible. He took the time to go through and explain practice questions with me. He made the content really understandable and I ended up doing well when it came to those questions on the exam. I definitely would recommend him. His assistance is personalized and thoughtful.

Zenab, 3 lessons with Ryan

Exceptional physiology tutor

As a FY medical student, I really want to understand physiology…like an expert, not just the fast-paced 'you need to know this or you won’t pass' way. I was looking for a tutor who had patience and in-depth knowledge, who would be willing to take the time to help me learn. Ryan has been all of that. I just worked with him for a couple of weeks on the cardiac module and I learned so much more than I did in class or the book (Guyton and Hall). He helped me link the concepts, vignettes, and pharmacology together by creating narratives I could relate to. I felt like he really cared about me learning the material and understood my determination to apply it, not just “know it”. This has been one of the best tutoring experiences I have ever had. Highly recommend him.

Esther, 11 lessons with Ryan

Excellent tutor

Ryan helped my son with his current biology work in school and has moved him a bit further along in his studies by introducing new material relevant to his coursework.

Julia, 7 lessons with Ryan