Nathan H. Lents, Ph.D. Department of Sciences 524 W. 59 th Street John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY 10019 The City University of New York 646.557.4504 http://www.jjay.cuny.edu/science/facultyprofile/lents.asp [email protected] http://sites.google.com/site/nathanlents/ Office: 05.61.06; Lab: 05.62 Current Appointments John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York (CUNY) Director , Office of Undergraduate Research Sep 2010 - present Deputy Chair , Department of Sciences Jan 2010 – present Associate Professor of Molecular Biology with tenure Jan 2011 – present Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology, Department of Sciences Aug 2006 – Dec 2010 The Graduate Center, The City University of New York (CUNY) Associate Professor , Doctoral Program in Biochemistry Feb 2009 – present Education Saint Louis University, School of Medicine Aug 2000 – June 2004 Doctor of Philosophy , with distinction , conferred June 30, 2004 Department of Pharmacological and Physiological Sciences Saint Louis University Aug 1996 – Dec 1999 Bachelor of Science , Biology (Molecular) Summa Cum Laude Languages English, native; Spanish, near-fluent (reading/writing), upper advanced (speaking) Awards • 2011 Research Excellence Award, John Jay College, April 2011 • 2009 Distinguished Teaching Award, John Jay College, April 2009 • Nominated for recognition by students on the Dean's List , John Jay College: 2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2010, 2011 • Saint Louis U. Graduate Student Association, Research Day Symposium 2002 , Second Place – Biology • Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, Saint Louis U., Research Day 2002 ; First Place – Biological Sciences Notable Committee and Administrative Assignments • Founding Director, Office of Undergraduate Research (O.U.R.), John Jay College ( 2010 -present) • Deputy Chair (for Personnel and Scheduling), Department of Sciences, John Jay College ( 2010 -present) • Invited Visiting Scholar, University of Lincoln, (U.K.) (spring 2012 ) • Research Advisory Committee, John Jay College ( 2010 -present) • Committee on Honorary Degrees, John Jay College ( 2011 -2014) • College search committees: Director of Institutional Research ( 2011 ), Associate Provost for Research ( 2012 ) • Biology Advanced Placement Exam Reader, Educational Testing Service / The College Board (June 2011 ) • Chair, committee to design and propose a minor in Biology, John Jay College ( 2011 -present) • Honor’s Program Selection Committee, John Jay College ( 2010 ) • Faculty Search Committee, Science Department, John Jay College ( 2008 , chair in 2010 , 2011, 2012 ) • Course and Laboratory Coordinator for all 100-level biology courses, John Jay College ( 2008 -present) • Provost’s Taskforce on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, John Jay College ( 2009 -present) • Co-director, NSF-funded Scholarship Program for Computer Science and Forensic Science ( 2008 -present) • Executive Committee, University Committee on Research Awards , CUNY (2008 -2010) • Graduate Admissions Committee, Masters Program in Forensic Science, John Jay College ( 2008 -2010) • College Scholarship Committee, John Jay College ( 2007 -2011) • Outcomes Assessment Committee, Science Department, John Jay College ( 2007 -2011) • CUNY Science Group Leader, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation initiative for online/hybrid courses ( 2007 -2008) Past Research Positions Held New York University Medical Center June 2004 – Aug 2006 Postdoctoral Research Fellow Laboratory of Brian D. Dynlacht, Ph.D., Department of Pathology and NYU Cancer Institute Principle Project: A genomic approach to examine the regulation of gene expression by proteins in the RB and E2F family during cellular senescence and oncogenic transformation Saint Louis University, School of Medicine Aug 2000 – June 2004 Graduate Research Assistant and Ph.D. candidate Laboratory of Joseph J. Baldassare, Ph.D., Department of Pharmacological and Physiological Sciences Dissertation Title: CDK2, CAK, and pRb: Interactions Regulating G1 Phase Cell Cycle Progression Saint Louis University, Dept. of Biology Aug 1999 – May 2000 Research Assistant, Laboratory of Robert I. Bolla, Ph.D., chair, Dept. of Biology Senior Thesis Title: The Role of the CF-9 Gene Cluster in the Resistance of Soybeans to Infection by the Soybean Cyst Nematode. Archer Daniels Midland, Co.; Decatur, IL May 1998 – Jan 2000 Research Assistant, Division of Molecular Genetics James R. Randall Research Center, Dept. of Fermentation Research Junior Thesis Title: Maximizing the Efficiency of Electrotransformation of Corynebacterium glutamicum Courses Taught At John Jay College: 1. Nsc107 (taught in Spanish): Intro to Science & Society (developed Spanish version of this course) 2. Gen255/Bio255: The Biology of Gender and Sexuality (developed this course) 3. Bio391: Human Physiology (developed this course) 4. BICM-85000: Functions of Nucleic Acids (Invited lectures, Biochemistry Ph.D. program) 5. BMSC-GA-4431: Fundamentals of Teaching (Invited Lectures, NYU School of Medicine) 6. Fos402: Forensic Science Research Internship 7. Bio101: Modern Biology IA, Lecture (taught first launch) 8. Bio102: Modern Biology IB, Lecture (taught first launch) 9. Bio103: Modern Biology I, Lecture 10. Bio104: Modern Biology II, Lecture 11. Bio102: Modern Biology IB, Laboratory Section 12. Bio103: Modern Biology I, Laboratory Section In previous teaching positions: 1. Instructor , MCAT Biology Section; The Princeton Review, Saint Louis, MO May 2001 – April 2004 2. Instructor, “Drugs We Use and Abuse” Aug 2002 – Dec 2003 Saint Louis University, School of Medicine, Dept. of Pharm. & Phys. Sciences 3. Student Coordinator , “Techniques in Biomedical Science” July 2000 – Dec 2000 Saint Louis University, School of Medicine, Graduate Program in Biomedical Science 4. Teaching Assistant , Saint Louis University, General Biology Laboratory I Aug-Dec 1998 5. Teaching Assistant , Saint Louis University, General Biology Laboratory II Jan-May 1999 6. Teaching Assistant , Saint Louis University, College Physics Laboratory I Aug-Dec 1999 7. Teaching Assistant , Saint Louis University, College Physics Laboratory II Jan-May 2000 8. Teaching Assistant , Saint Louis University, Human Physiology Laboratory Jan-May 2000 Peer Review Experience 1. Editorial board, Journal of Phylogenetics and Evolutionary Biology (2011 -present) 2. Panelist, Biology and Earth Science review panel, PSC-CUNY Research Awards Program , ( 2011 -present) 3. Chair (liaison), Biochem. & Molec. Bio. review panel, PSC-CUNY Research Awards Program (2007-2010). curriculum vitae, Nathan H. Lents, page 2 4. Invited Panelist, Teaching the Process of Science , Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE, U.S. Department of Education). New York, NY, January 2009 . 5. Invited reviewer for: - Mastering™ Anatomy and Physiology, Pearson Publishing ( 2012 ) - Sadava, Purves, et al., Life: The Science of Biology , 9 th ,10 th ed., © WH Freeman (2009, 2011 ) - Biology: How Life Works . (in development, W.H. Freeman Publishers) (2009 ) 6. Invited Ad-hoc referee for the following journals: New Biotechnology (2012 ); CBE: Life Sciences Education (2010-2011 ); Neoplasia (2009 ); Molecular Cancer Research (2008 ); American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology (2008 ); Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling (2008 ); Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism (2006 ) 7. Invited peer review for the following modules of the Visionlearning program (New York, NY): Statistics in Science (2007 ); Uncertainty, Error, and Confidence in Science (2008 ) 8. Co-referee (with either Brian Dynlacht or Joseph Baldassare) for primary research manuscripts in Cancer Cell , Cancer Research , Molecular and Cellular Biology, Journal of Biological Chemistry , Experimental Cell Research , and Oncogene . (2002-2006 ). Students Mentored Graduate Students 1. Abhishek Venkatratnam, Masters of Science, Forensic Science, May 2011 Thesis title, Zinc Is an Effective Adulterant of Urine and Can Be Used to Mask the Presence of Illicit Drugs in Routine Drug Testing Subsequent position, Research Technician, Singapore-MIT Alliance (Smart Centre) 2. Kathleen Grimley, Masters of Science, Forensic Science, May 2009 Thesis title, Validation of the iPrep™ for Forensic Use Subsequent position, Physical Scientist, U.S. Department of Justice Undergraduate Students 3. Tamykah Anthony, Bachelors of Science, Forensic Science (in progress) Senior thesis title, Exploring the Mechanism of Zinc’s Interference with Urine ELISA Tests for Drugs **Winner, presentation award, 2012 ABRCMS conference 4. Szilvia Tobak, Bachelors of Science, Forensic Science (in progress) Thesis title, MZF-1 Regulation of the CCN family of genes 5. Richard Piszczatowski, Bachelors of Science, Forensic Science, May 2011 Thesis title, MZF-1 regulates CTGF expression in the hematopoeitic compartment Subsequent position, Research Assistant, Department of Oncology, Albert Einstein School of Med. 6. Michael Lugo, Bachelors of Science, Forensic Science, May 2011 Thesis title, A Study of CCN2 Protein Expression Regulated by MZF-1 Induction in Several Cell Types Subsequent position, United States Marine Corps 7. Jung Cho, Bachelors of Science, Forensic Science, May 2009 Thesis title, Expression of Cell Cycle Genes Following Silencing of CCN2 by RNA Interference 8. Zuleyma Peralta, Bachelors of Science, Forensic Science, May 2008 Thesis title, Qualitative Analysis of the Purity of DNA Prepared by the iPrep™ for Forensic Use Subsequent position, Ph.D. Program in Microbiology, Mount