Adam P. Fagen, Ph.D., is a Senior Program Officer with the
Board
on Life Sciences of the National Research Council. He came to the National Academies from
Harvard University,
where he most recently served as Preceptor on Molecular and Cellular Biology. He earned his
Ph.D. in molecular biology and education from Harvard, working with physicist
Eric Mazur on issues related to undergraduate
science courses;
his research focused on mechanisms for assessing
and enhancing introductory science courses in biology and physics to encourage student learning
and conceptual understanding, including studies of active learning, classroom demonstrations, and
student understanding of genetics vocabulary. Fagen also received an A.M. in molecular and cellular
biology from Harvard, based on laboratory research in molecular evolutionary genetics, and a B.A.
from
Swarthmore College with a double-major
in biology and mathematics. In addition to genetics and molecular biology, he is interested in
improving undergraduate and graduate science education and other scientific workforce and policy issues.
He served as co-director of the
2000 National
Doctoral Program Survey, an on-line assessment of doctoral programs organized by the
National Association of Graduate-Professional Students,
supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and completed by over 32,000 students.
Since his arrival at the National Academies in 2003, Fagen has served as study director for Bridges to Independence:
Fostering the Independence of New Investigators in Biomedical Research (2005),
study co-director for Treating
Infectious Diseases in a Microbial World: Report of Two Workshops on Novel Antimicrobial
Therapeutics (2006), study co-director for the 2007 and 2008 Amendments to the National
Academies' Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research (2007, 2008),
study director and co-editor of Understanding Interventions that Encourage Minorities to Pursue
Research Careers: Summary of a Workshop (2007), study co-director for Inspired by Biology: From
Molecules to Materials to Machines (2008), study director for Transforming Agricultural
Education for a Changing World (2009), study director for Responsible Research with
Biological Select Agents and Toxins (2009), and study co-director for Research at the Intersection of
the Physical and Life Sciences (2010). He is currently study director or responsible staff officer
for several ongoing projects including the National
Academies Summer Institute on Undergraduate Education in Biology, the National Academies Human Embryonic Stem
Cell Research Advisory Committee, and Special Immunizations Program for Laboratory Personnel Engaged in Research
on Countermeasures for Select Agents.
