Public release date: 6-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Garth Hogan ghogan@asmusa.org American Society for Microbiology

Washington, DCJune 6, 2012 Lilliam Casillas-Martnez, Ph.D., has been honored with the 2012 Carski Foundation Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award. Casilla is a Professor in the Biology Department at the University of Puerto Rico-Humacao (UPRH). One of Casillas' strongest passions is to educate and help women from low income homes, or "invisible students," as she calls them. Because there are so few Latin American women in positions of power, she feels that mentoring young women is crucial to their development. Nominator and former student Lorraine D. Rodriguez-Rivera, now a Ph.D. candidate in the Laboratory for Food Microbiology and Pathogenesis of Foodborne Diseases at Cornell University, describes Casillas' effect on others: "Casillas has had a profound impact on the professional development of many women in Puerto Rico. As my undergraduate advisor, she provided me with valuable tools for my career. I would like to become a professor and inspire minority students the way she inspired me towards becoming a professional in microbiology."

Casillas received her B.S. in Industrial Microbiology from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, and her Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Connecticut, Storrs. There she studied Bacillus subtilis under the tutelage of Peter and Barbara Setlow. Upon completion of her doctorate, Casillas attended the Microbial Diversity Course in Woods Hole and she continues to conduct research in emerging fields such as geomicrobiology and metagenomics. Once at the University of Puerto Rico-Humacao, Casillas started a productive collaboration in geomicrobiology with Pieter Visscher from the Integrative Geosciences Department at the University of Connecticut.

One of Casillas' proud accomplishments is the NSF-funded Cabo Rojo Salterns Microbial Observatory, where undergraduate students learn how to conduct in situ studies. To date, more than one hundred Puerto Rican students have received hands-on training in techniques in geomicrobiology and metagenomics. In addition to working on research projects, undergraduate students in Casillas' lab are required to design outreach activities to implement during visits to local public schools. Her laboratory is well known for its active participation in science fairs, open houses, and the development of workshops for local high school teachers.

Casillas' nomination was supported by Mayra Cancel, a high school teacher from the Puerto Rico public school system. "Casillas' efforts have changed my perception of the community of researchers in Puerto Rico and have strengthened their ties with teachers of the public system education," explained Cancel. "Education is basic for human progress, individually and collectively. Casillas' workshops for teachers strengthen the collective of research groups in the schools of our community and have served as motivation to reaffirm our confidence in higher education and its commitment to educational principles."

With the support of several agencies, Casillas has been able to combine undergraduate education with research projects such as characterizing novel microorganisms, constructing metagenomic libraries from various extreme environments in Puerto Rico, and screening for novel antibiotics. In the last decade, more than fifty undergraduates from her laboratory have continued graduate studies. "Casillas' success as a teacher and a mentor is evident in the triumphs of her students. Her down-to-earth style of mentoring, her charismatic personality and her availability to her students allowed us to approach her whenever advice was needed," described a former undergraduate student, Angel Casanovanow a Ph.D. candidate in the Microbiology Doctoral Training Program of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. "She was more than my undergraduate professor; she is a teacher from whom I have learned and acquired many skills that have allowed me to succeed in my quest for knowledge."

In her short career, Casillas has received several honors and has been invited to serve as a member on several review panels for agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Agriculture. She has been the main speaker in several local and international conferences and has published more than twenty scientific publications (two in educational journals) and three book chapters. More recently, she was awarded the 2010 Arturo Carrion Lecture Award from ASM's Puerto Rican Chapter for her excellence in teaching Microbiology in Puerto Rico. Casillas is already building a legacy through the achievement and values she instills in her students, as well as her overall impact on the Puerto Rican community.

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To view Dr. Cassillas' biosketch, please visit: http://www.asm.org/index.php/awards-grants/current-carski-foundation-distinguished-undergraduate-teaching-award-laureate.html

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The American Society for Microbiology honors Lilliam Casillas-Martinez