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About C. Britt Carlson

Britt served as the course coordinator for General Chemistry I from Fall 2013-Summer 2023. During this time, she converted the laboratory component portion of the course into a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) centered around soils. This CURE included both experimental and literature research components. Britt was also the principal investigator and program coordinator for the NSF-funded programs, Parkland Science Scholars and PRECS: Phenotypic Plasticity Research Experience for Undergraduates. Parkland Science Scholars (NSF S-STEM #2030590) is a program designed to support science majors from low-income families through mentoring, financial support, undergraduate research, and community. PRECS (NSF BIO REU #1559929 and #1950786) was a collaborative Parkland-University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign research experience designed specifically for community college students. Britt earned a BA in biochemistry from Earlham College and a PhD in biomolecular chemistry from University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Her doctoral research focused on protein structure and links to genetic disease. Her passion for chemistry education, mentoring, undergraduate research, and broadening participation comes directly from this educational background and from the beliefs that science is best learned through doing and that science is best served from having diverse voices included in the process of asking questions and finding conclusions. 

Positions

October 2023 - Present Associate Director of STEM Program Implementation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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August 2013 - Present Associate Professor of Chemistry, Parkland College Natural Sciences
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September 2009 - May 2013 Chemistry Instructor, Brookdale Community College
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2011 - 2012 Visiting Scientist, Rutgers University - New Brunswick/Piscataway
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2009 Adjunct Faculty Member, Middlesex County College ‐ Department of Natural Sciences
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2004 - 2008 Graduate Research Assistant, Studies of the Thrombospondin Signature Domain, University of Wisconsin - Madison ‐ Biomolecular Chemistry
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Disciplines


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Honors and Awards

  • 2023: Parkland College, Teaching Excellence Award recipient
  • 2021-2025: NSF S-STEM "Scholarships and Support Strategies to Increase Retention and Graduation/Transfer of Students Pursuing Associate Degrees in Natural Science Fields" Award #2030590
  • 2021-2022: Illinois Community College Faculty Association Dr. Joseph T. Cipfl Faculty Research Grant: "Integration of a Soils Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience in General Chemistry I"
  • 2020-2023: NSF BIO REU Site “Phenotypic Plasticity Research for Community College Students” Award #1950819/1950786
  • 2020: Illinois Community College Trustees Association, Outstanding Full-time Faculty Award, Parkland College awardee
  • 2016-2019: NSF BIO REU Site “Phenotypic Plasticity Research for Community College Students” Award #1559929/1559908
  • 2016: American Association of Women in Community Colleges, “40 under 40” honoree.
  • 2012-2013: Brookdale Innovation Grant, Brookdale Community College, “Investigation of the Creation of a STEM Institute at Brookdale”
  • 2006-2007: Vilas Travel Grant, University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • 2005-2006: US National Institutes of Health training grant HL07899
  • June 5-10, 2004: Best Student Poster Award, FASEB Summer Research Conference, Thrombospondins and Other Modulatory Adhesion Molecules in Tissue Organization and Homeostasis. Pine Mountain, GA


Education

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2008 - 2009 Postdoctoral Fellow, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
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2004 - 2008 PhD, Biomolecular Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison ‐ School of Medicine and Public Health
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1995 - 1999 BA, Biochemistry, Earlham College
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Contact Information

Department of Natural Sciences
2400 W. Bradley Avenue, Room L-133
Champaign, IL 61821


Phenotypic Plasticity Research Experience for Community College Students (PRECS) (2)

Teaching Works (3)

Published Works (6)

Research Works (1)

Posters and Presentations (9)