Biology Faculty

Lynn Dreese currently teaches Human Anatomy & Physiology 1 and 2. She originally was hired at Saint Paul College as a part-time instructor in 1999, and became a full-time instructor in the newly-created Biology Department of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2002. Lynn served as Saint Paul College’s Department Chair of Math & Science from August 2005 – August 2010.

Since 1982, Lynn has taught anatomy & physiology at ten colleges besides Saint Paul College and enjoyed the challenge of getting to create Human Anatomy & Physiology 1 and 2 from scratch at this college. At Kansas State University, she earned a B.S. in Secondary Education Biology and a M.S. in Secondary Education with an emphasis in Community College Science Teaching in the Biological Sciences.

Helping students understand the complexities of how the body's organ systems look and work so that they can understand the content of more advanced classes as well as human body news of the day is her passion.

Joanna Cregan currently teaches General Biology: The Living Cell (web-enhanced), Environmental Science (online), and Contemporary Issues in Science at Saint Paul College. She was originally hired part-time in the fall of 2004, became a full-time instructor in 2005, and is thrilled to be a part of the fast-growing biology department at Saint Paul College. Joanna received her B.S. in Environmental Biology at Beloit College in WI, after which she attended graduate school at the University of Minnesota. At the U of MN she obtained an M.S. in Plant Biological Sciences while developing a passion for Biology education. Joanna enjoys the challenges and rewards of introducing students to Biology and Science, and of helping them succeed in this challenging but fascinating subject.

Nasreen Mehmood joined the Biology Department at Saint Paul College as a full-time Instructor in 2005. She teaches a variety of courses including General Biology: The Living Cell, Human Anatomy and Physiology, Human Body Systems, and the Biology of Women.

Nasreen settled in Minnesota after migrating from India in 2001, where she was an Associate Professor of Zoology at the prestigious Osmania University, with more than sixteen years of research and teaching experience. She earned her Ph.D. in Ecotoxicology, an M.S. in Zoology, and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the same university where she later served as a faculty member. She has conducted a number of research studies and has published several research papers.

Nasreen is very passionate about teaching and enjoys sharing with her students the wonders of the biological sciences. She is known for the active learning techniques she employs in the classroom and her enthusiasm for the courses she teaches, and she thoroughly enjoys being a part of the student-centered and expanding Biology Department. Outside of her professional interest, she enjoys traveling, reading, cooking and painting.

Mariann Gabrawy was initially hired as a part-time Biology Instructor at Saint Paul College in 2005. One year later, she was hired to teach biology courses at the College full-time and joined the student-centered Biology Department on a permanent basis. She is interested in all aspects of biology and shares her enthusiasm with her students in the courses she teaches, including General Biology 1: The Living Cell and Anatomy and Physiology 1. She also designed and teaches three new courses in the Biology Department: Introduction to Forensic Science, General Biology 2: The Living World, and Exploring Biology.

Mariann earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biology with an emphasis in Zoology and a Master’s degree in Ecology and Natural Resources from St. Cloud State University, Minnesota. Her experience includes five years of teaching and ten years of tutoring biology, chemistry, and physics students.

For Mariann, the best part of teaching biology is facing the challenge of motivating students, helping them as they develop an understanding and appreciation of biological processes and concepts, and watching them become more interested in the study of life. Her goals are to provide quality science education, help build self-confidence, and leave a positive impact on her students that will last them a lifetime.

Rachel Hudson joined the Biology Department at Saint Paul College in 2006. She teaches several courses including General Biology: The Living Cell, Human Body Systems, and Environmental Science.

Rachel received her Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Biology from Gustavus Adolphus College. She completed her Master’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Iowa State University. While studying at Iowa State University, Rachel researched the diversity of bird communities in restored wetlands. After graduate school, Rachel became a scientist for the USDA Forest Service, where she performed geographical analyses of environmental datasets. However, she decided to pursue her passion for teaching, and was thrilled to become a faculty member of the student-centered Biology Department at Saint Paul College.

Rachel particularly enjoys challenging her students to link classroom material to the real world and showing them why it is important to become scientifically literate. She realizes that each student has his/her own learning style, and therefore she introduces class materials in as many ways as possible, including the use of case studies, group activities, and simulations.

Anita Bansal has taken a 2-year leave of absence to join her husband in Mumbai, India, who was temporarily transferred there for a new assignment. Leaving her beloved courses and students at Saint Paul College for this time period was a very difficult decision for Anita. She plans on continuing research in various Nutrition topics while living in Mumbai. Anita is looking forward to bringing back all of her experiences/learning when she and her family returns to Minnesota in Fall 2012.

Anita Bansal joined the Biology department at Saint Paul College as a full time instructor in the fall of 2007. Most currently, she has taught traditional & on-line Nutrition, and Human Body Systems. She joined Saint Paul College in January 2003 as a part-time instructor with the goal of developing and teaching a Nutrition course. She was also instrumental in developing course curriculum and labs for the College’s General Biology 1: The Living Cell course. During the same time period, Anita also taught Nutrition, General Biology, and Human Biology labs at Minneapolis Community & Technical College. Her teaching career began at Roosevelt College in Chicago, Illinois after several years in Corporate America as a Senior Research Scientist developing innovative food products and processes.

Anita earned her BSc and MSc at Meerut University in India, and her MS at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. To promote student success, Anita offers one-on-one tutoring, and in her traditional Nutrition course, posts lecture notes/exam reviews and grades online using D2L.

Anita’s deep personal commitment to teaching is about playing a leadership role as a means of making a difference in the lives of her students and in the process learning more about herself. To stay in a learning mode and push herself out of her comfort zone, she continuously strives for new methods/activities in her courses, participates in the business of education beyond the classroom by developing new courses and programs, exchanges ideas with her peers, and rethinks every aspect of what she does in the classroom every year.

Kirstin Purcell has been teaching biology courses at Saint Paul College since the fall of 2009. She is honored to be part of a biology department known for their educational innovation and student-centered curriculum. She has an interest in teaching general biology courses as well as human-centered courses such as anatomy and physiology.

Kirstin comes to Saint Paul College with six years of teaching experience in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. The courses that she has taught include: General Biology, Concepts in Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, Human Body, Medical Terminology and Environmental Biology.

She completed her B.A. in Biology and English from the University of Minnesota, Morris. In 1998, Kirstin completed a Masters Degree in Education with an emphasis in Life Science from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Kirstin has also completed a second Masters Degree in Life Science from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Kirstin believes that teaching is a privilege. It provides her with the opportunity to help people realize their potential and to achieve their educational goals. She also believes that teaching demands introspection and humility. Her teaching philosophy abides by the Chinese proverb: “Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I’ll understand.” When not pursuing her professional interests, Kirstin enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, bird watching, and gardening.

Mary Stueve joined the Biology Department at Saint Paul College in 2010. She has taught a wide variety of biology and chemistry courses; however, she is currently focused on teaching Human Body Systems and Nutrition.

Mary received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Biology and Molecular Biology at University of Minnesota - Duluth. As part of her graduate studies, Mary researched metastatic breast cancer cells and osteolytic tumors. She focused on cell signaling pathways and transcription patterns involved in the cancer progression to bone.

After graduate school, Mary served at several community colleges in Minnesota and Texas, both as an instructor and as an administrator. She moved back to her home state of Minnesota in 2009 and returned to her first passion, the classroom, in 2010 when she joined Saint Paul College.

Mary loves a classroom setting where she learns as much from the students as they learn from her. She works to make her students feel comfortable interjecting in class and asking questions. She realizes that all students bring a unique background to the classroom and everyone can contribute their knowledge to the learning process of all students.

In her spare time, Mary spends time with her husband and two young sons. She is also working to get her pilot’s license and is training for a marathon.