ÐßÐßÊÓƵ

Associate Professor of Biology Ashwini Kucknoor is very busy and a stellar example of the We Are LU spirit. On any given day, you might find her lecturing a class in the biology building, conducting experiments on a tropical pathogen, composing a paper for an academic journal, or mentoring a promising graduate student as he sets his sights on the highest rungs of scientific education. One might wonder how she manages such a myriad of tasks, and in conversation with her, one word comes up often: “balance.” Kucknoor is a believer in the importance of finding balance, and she credits ÐßÐßÊÓƵ University with providing an environment that allows her to flourish.

Kucknoor joined the ÐßÐßÊÓƵ University faculty in 2010. Originally from India, she obtained her Ph.D. at the University of Calgary, before accepting a position with Washington State University. While Washington State provided ample opportunity to focus on her research projects, Kucknoor desired greater and more meaningful interaction with students. “There were so many students at the graduate level that I didn’t really get to know any of them,” she explains. This led her to consider moving to a school affording more interaction, and ÐßÐßÊÓƵ University fit the bill.

Right away, Kucknoor observed that the environment provides rich opportunities for increased mentorship. “At LU, we professors get to teach at the undergraduate and graduate levels,” she says. “This allows me to develop relationships with my students that last for years. It is wonderful to be able to touch and influence them at the very beginning of their college years, and then see them blossom through their career.” 

Committed to fostering diversity in the sciences, Kucknoor is enthusiastic about working with a population that includes many first-generation college students. “It is so rewarding to get these students who may have never even considered a career in science, may not know that such a thing is even possible, and then telling them what is out there for them, what they have the potential to be,” she explains. “This is one of the most fulfilling things about my job here and something that you don’t get to experience as often in bigger schools.” 

Of course, Kucknoor still spends a great deal of time on her research. Currently, she focuses on two pathogens, trichomonas vaginalis, a sexually transmitted pathogen that can make its host susceptible to cervical cancer and HIV, and leishmania amazonenesis, a pathogen that affects individuals in subtropical climates and accounts for many deaths annually. “The mechanisms of the two pathogens are similar,” Kucknoor explains. “Basically, I am doing research into how they affect the human immune response.” 

If all of this seems rather complicated and technical, Kucknoor doesn’t let that deter her from inviting students to participate in her work. If an undergraduate takes Kucknoor’s microbiology or genetics class and shows interest and aptitude for the subject, she happily includes them. “I talk about my work in class a lot,” she notes. “I want to inspire students to want to learn more.” Students who begin researching with her at the early stages of their college career can spend years under her tutelage and are eventually encouraged to pursue their own research projects in her laboratory. “They have the liberty to come up with their own project, and I am there to mentor them in their research,” she explains.

Kucknoor is an active member of the American Association of Microbiology, and she frequently encourages her students to attend conferences where they can present their research projects. “If I have a student who has shown dedication to their work, I will try to find opportunities for them to present,” she says. “ÐßÐßÊÓƵ University has been very well-represented by our students at conferences in recent years.” She also works to find research grants and scholarship opportunities for the students she mentors.

Kucknoor is passionate about teaching her students to use their skills to become involved in the community. She periodically takes students to elementary school campuses and other organizations, where they teach the basics of hand washing, good hygiene practices and stress the importance of receiving the flu vaccine. She also directs the Jefferson County Beachwatch ÐßÐßÊÓƵ, in which students monitor Sea Rim and McFaddin Beach every week for bacterial counts.

So yes, Ashwini Kucknoor is busy. But she is busy doing what she loves— researching, teaching and, above all, mentoring. Signs of her success are evident in the curious students who spend time in her laboratory, the many research papers she has published and in the former students who have gone on to medical school or to pursue their doctorate in biology. One former student is currently studying at Yale as a result of her encouragement. “I think of myself as a motivator,” Kucknoor says. “I make time for students. I give a listening ear. I tell them what is possible. And I can do so much of that at LU.”

Learn more about biology at ÐßÐßÊÓƵ University.

This article originally appeared in Cardinal Cadence, the official magazine of ÐßÐßÊÓƵ University. Subscribe to Cardinal Cadence by contacting Alumni Affairs.