Alexis H. Branch

Hi, I’m Alexis!

Welcome to my site! On my site, you can find information about me and my career as a research scientist and biology instructor as well as information about my career trajectory.  

Before you start clicking around, let me give you a brief overview of who I am and why I’m here.

I am a PhD Candidate and graduate research assistant at the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University (GSU). More specifically, I am a bacteriologist. I study metal-dependent regulation of virulence factors in the gram-negative pathogen which causes the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea, Neisseria gonorrhea. My aim is to understand how N. gonorrhoeae senses zinc and manganese levels in the host and responds by regulating the production of virulence factors. These virulence factors include critical zinc and manganese import systems and bacterial cell factors that are involved in metabolism. Essentially, I want to know how N. gonorrhoeae senses the metal nutrients in the host and uses those metals to become more pathogenic. 

I am also a graduate teaching assistant at GSU, I have the privilege of teaching Principles of Biological I lab independently in the Department of Biology where my students learn fundamental biological concepts (i.e. the scientific method, diffusion, osmosis, microscopy, tonicity, microbiology, and much more!). Helping my students understand key biological concepts while also helping them navigate through their academic and personal lives makes teaching exceptionally rewarding. 

This site was designed to help you learn all about the skills I have developed while serving in these roles. You will also learn about my values as a scientist, instructor, and mentor and how these values not only drive my career trajectory but impact my students’ lives.

If you have any questions or comments, please visit the sidebar to connect with me via LinkedIn and Instagram. 

Thank you for visiting my site!  

Georgia State University’s Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development awards internal dissertation grants annually to help fund doctoral students in meeting their research goals. This year, I earned this award for my project titled Zur-dependent regulation of znuCBA during metal limitation in Neisseria gonorrhoeae. 

More information about the award can be found here. 

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/hsoaxabied1epequ57cj5/FY24-Dissertation-Grant-Call-for-Proposals.pdf?rlkey=ul5g9jomn015w99rkp1qrztnl&dl=0

Help me celebrate my accomplishments!

I have earned the Board of Regents-approved Certificate of Excellence in College Teaching from the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Online Education at Georgia State University.

Reviewer comments: 

We were particularly impressed with your discussion of your teaching effectiveness. You might have provided the best example of that analysis that we’ve seen. You approached your analysis as if you were conducting Scholarship of Teaching Learning research, and you do a great job of documenting the impact your teaching has had on your students. Your thoughtful reflections on your teaching and your philosophy demonstrate that you are an exceptional teacher dedicated to the success of your students and to the development of your craft.

You can find more information about the certificate here. 

https://cetl.gsu.edu/services/graduate-student-services/certificate-excellence-teaching-learning/