Teaching Philosophy

As a first-generation college student, I believe that discoveries challenge how people view the world. New information has the potential to challenge and broaden the scope of one’s worldview, and that in itself is invaluable. In every field there is a language barrier between the experts and the audience and therefore there needs to be a translator to relay that information. Teachers assume that position in life. As an educator, my ultimate goal is to empower students to be critical in processing new information and competent in communicating their knowledge

Become Critical Thinkers

Empower Students to Drive Student-Centered Learning

Our Research Team.

I am committed to training the next generation of scientists by providing high quality and individualized mentorship to diverse trainees. I have supervised 2 undergraduate researchers, Leah Kwak and Meghan Hnilo, who have successfully defended their senior research theses. Currently, I supervise 3 undergraduate students, Eleni Antoniades, Annabella Rinaldi, and Sofia Apgar, through their honors theses and individualized projects at the University of Maryland under the direction of Juan Angueyra.

Carinna Householder

Graduate Researcher

Eleni Antoniades

Biology Honors

Annabella Rinaldi

Biology Honors

Juan Angueyra

Assistant Professor

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Alumni

Meghan Hnilo

Predoctoral Fellow at Penn State College of Medicine

Leah Kwak

Gemstone Honors

Neurobiology Course: Synapses and Circuits (SYNC) - 2025

Juan and I returned to MBL for a second year and mentored two graduate students through another intensive research project in the Neurobiology Course. This time we ambitiously taught a variety of techniques including: CRISPR mutagenesis & Tol2 Transgenesis microinjections, confocal imaging on live and fixed tissue, cell ablation, hair cell labelling, and behavior with larval zebrafish. .

Neurobiology Course: Synapses and Circuits (SYNC) - 2024

Juan and I mentored two graduate students through an intensive 2-week research project in the Neurobiology Course at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole, MA to explore photoreceptor ablation and regeneration in zebrafish.

Angueyra Lab: Molecular Biology Training

As a cellular and molecular biology candidate, I have assisted setting up every molecular technique in the Angueyra lab since it first opened. Recently I have helped Meghan Hnilo (see above) optimize genotyping mutant lines she is working with.

Angueyra Lab: Cloning Transgenic Lines

I have been directly training undergraduate, Leak Kwak (see above), to clone her own novel transgenic lines to understand the spatial and temporal emergence of interneurons of the retina in zebrafish.

Introductory to Principles of Cell and Molecular Biology (BSCI171) -2021 - 2023

In the first three years of graduate school, I served as a teaching assistant for an introductory cellular and molecular biology lab, introducing approximately 250 undergraduate students to a new field, many of which have gone on to pursue undergraduate research positions. I offered for new graduate assistants to observe my lab sections before teaching their own, and several attended and observed my sections weekly.

Undergraduate Student

Fall 2022 - BSCI171

"Carinna is amazing, she is very intelligent and throughout answered your question without any judgment."

Undergraduate Student

Spring 2022 - BSCI171

"Carinna was a wonderful TA! Pre–lab lectures were crafted and delivered with care and were extremely helpful in preparing for labs. She demonstrated a very strong knowledge of the course and its expectations. Carinna was very approachable and provided constructive feedback and help when needed. She made me feel comfortable in the lab/learning environment and helped me believe that I would succeed. "

Undergraduate Student

Spring 2023 - BSCI171

" I absolutely loved everything about the way Carinna instructed this lab. She was very detailed in her explanations, was always very clear in what we needed to complete and submit throughout the course, and was very willing to answer any questions we had and help us in any way. She was incredibly friendly and welcoming, and we were able to have fun and talk with her during lab while still staying focused and being productive. One of, if not the, best TA I have ever had. :) "