Dr. Brenda Schoffstall's Lab at Barry University
While novel scientific discovery is an important focus in Dr. Schoffstall’s lab group, her largest passion and priority is training new scientists how to do research and do it well. “I am passionate about creating an environment where students learn the correct way to plan a research project from the ground up and giving them some of the tools to carry out their plans,” Dr. Schoffstall said.
By approaching scientific research at Barry University in this way, Dr. Schoffstall has been highly successful in graduating students who go on to positions in research labs, graduate schools, PhD programs, PA programs and MD programs. She has also been successful in creating the stage for undergraduate researchers to publish in scientific journals before they graduate from college. “It is very important to me that I give them the proper tools and knowledge to equip them to move on to research intensive institutions and succeed on their own,” she said.
Dr. Schoffstall’s research interests focus on teaching undergraduates how to do scientific research while pursuing deeper understanding about the role that phenotypic plasticity plays in the infectious capabilities of pathogenic free-living amoeba (FLA) encountered in the waters of Central and South Florida.
