Brown Center for Biomedical Informatics

Kathy (Kathryn) Jessen Eller, Ph.D., is an Adjunct Associate Professor in Medical Science at the Brown Center for Biomedical Informatics. As a STEM educator, her career has spanned pK-16 teaching and curriculum development across several STEM subjects. She currently leads a National Science Foundation-funded ITEST program for high school students that includes a semester-long course called Data Science, AI, and You (DSAIY) in Healthcare and an end-of-year workforce experience via a cross-disciplinary datathon/AI-a-thon. 

Before joining Brown University, Kathy was a science researcher at the Concord Consortium and the East Bay Educational Collaborative of Rhode Island. She led region-wide STEM initiatives and professional development for educators to integrate sustainable technologies into their classroom curricula. She has also developed and implemented engaging K-12 hands-on activities to build foundational literacy and skills in AI, data science, science, and oceanography, and to increase career awareness for K-12 students. Kathy currently serves as Secretary of the Rhode Island Science Teachers Association, where she spearheaded a statewide NASA downlink experience for K-12 students and helps organize conferences, workshops, and state education initiatives. 

 

Kathy holds a B.S. in Animal Behavior from Bucknell University, where she studied Japanese macaques and trout, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Oceanography (biological) from the University of Connecticut, where she developed innovative techniques for assessing pollution stress in animals. Her postdoctoral research at Tufts University Veterinary School and the Marine Biological Laboratory included confocal microscopy, in vitro fertilization, early embryonic development in clam larvae, and the identification, sequencing, and testing of the response of a novel p53 variant in clams. In addition, she is a Rhode Island Teaching Fellow who was certified to teach secondary general science and biology, taught in Rhode Island for nine years, and earned a middle school endorsement from Rhode Island College. 

 

Kathy is committed to community service and expanding STEM literacy and access for under-resourced schools and populations underrepresented in STEM through community partnerships and innovative curriculum design. She has served as a Girl Scout leader, set up and maintained seahorse tanks for elementary schools, judged and mentored students for STEM fairs, volunteered to restore endangered terrapin populations, and more.