Sarah Fausett

I am a small-town girl and an Army brat, born in Europe but raised in the American Mid-West. I love to travel, learn about the world, and meet new people. I also like time to read a quiet book with a glass of wine in complete isolation from other human beings. I love to get down to the nitty gritty of a problem, really sort out all the tiny pieces and put them in order. I also love to stand outside a problem and see it in the context of the whole. As a biologist, I am fascinated by the way organisms uses limited energy resources to carry out their biological imperative: to reproduce. As an educator, I hope to infect as many young people as possible with a love and appreciation of biology and to help them become savvy consumers of information.

Education

B.S. in Biology, Central Michigan University
PhD. in Cell Biology Duke University

Specialization in Teaching

While at Duke University, I received training in pedagogy and earned a Certificate in College Teaching. Soon after I began my teaching career at Durham Technical Community College. I now have over 10 years experience teaching Human Anatomy and Physiology.

Research Interests

Though separated from us by at least 600 million years of evolution, Caenorhabditis nematodes use a remarkably conserved tool-kit of genes to navigate the challenges and dangers of being alive on planet Earth. Oxidative stress, UV light, and excessive heat represent only a few of the miseries that plague our cells, leading to disease, aging, and death. Like us, these little worms walk a tightrope of energetic trade-offs to combat this onslaught of stressors as they mature and reproduce, securing the immortality of their genes. In the ETIRA lab, we use the elegant simplicity of nematodes to probe the genetics and physiology of energetic trade-offs in reproduction and aging, unlocking secrets of both evolutionary fitness and human disease.