Associate Professor Dr. Kelly Hallstrom has taught biology at ACPHS since August 2024, when the program was acquired from the College of Saint Rose, which closed last year. Less than a full year at ACPHS, Dr. Hallstrom was named Teacher of the year by students.
In your first year at ACPHS, students have named you Teacher of the Year. What's your reaction to that?
The recognition came as quite a shock. Starting at a new institution can sometimes feel like you’re back at day one of your first year of teaching. Although I had seven years of experience teaching college-level biology courses, I had to make some adjustments as I learned how classes are structured at ACPHS. I welcomed the challenge and saw it as an opportunity to expand my teaching skill set, but I was nervous about creating a comfortable learning environment for the students while I was also learning my way around ACPHS.
To be recognized during this year of adjustment was very surprising and much appreciated.
Are there particular moments over this past academic year that you think account for this recognition? Or perhaps there’s a moment or two that make the award especially meaningful to you?
Any educator can think of times during the academic year where they question if they did something right, whether that’s giving the right advice, covering a topic as clearly as they intended, or designing an assignment in a way that accurately assesses how well students understand course material. We all second-guess ourselves a lot because we all strive to be the best we can be on any given day for our students. Being recognized like this is a reminder to think about what went well and to keep doing those things.
What inspired your passion for biology, and how do you keep that enthusiasm alive in the classroom?
What inspired my interest in biology, especially microbiology, was a fifth-grade assembly on HIV and AIDS. This was in the mid ’90s, when treatment options were starting to improve, but stigma and misinformation remained very problematic. The organizers passed a picture around; it showed a T-cell covered in HIV particles. They explained that the virus destroys a person’s immune system and makes them unable to defend themselves against other infections.
I still clearly remember staring at that picture and wondering how something so small could cause so much damage to the human body. As other science interests came and went over the years, I remained fascinated by pathogens and wanted to know how they do what they do.
As devasting as infectious diseases can be, I still have that fascination. In my classes, I try to pause and ask students to reflect on the bigger picture, too. If we have to cover a complicated signaling pathway or a complex life cycle, I’ll say, “Let’s stop for a minute and think about this.” I remind students that all of the complexity is occurring in an organism we can’t even see without the help of microscopes, and it’s that complexity that leads to us getting sick.
What current research or development in biology do you think students should be paying more attention to?
Biological sciences rapidly change as we learn more and develop better tools. I think we will continue to see AI influence all areas of science, especially when it comes to predicting treatment outcomes based on patient risks. Along those lines, I think we will continue to see developments in personalized medicine. For example, we are getting better at designing immunotherapies that target not just certain health conditions, but even variations of those conditions, with cancer being a good example. There are still concerns about side effects and affordability associated with immunotherapies, but I think that field will continue to advance.
I urge everyone to keep a One Health approach, bringing together multiple disciplines, in mind. It is easy for people to stay focused in their area of expertise, but many problems we face, like emerging infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance, require an interdisciplinary approach. Our health is closely connected to our environments and to the health of animals around us. We need medical providers, ecologists, veterinarians and biomedical researchers all working together to solve these big problems.
As someone new to ACPHS, what’s been the most surprising or rewarding aspect of joining this academic community?
As much of an adjustment as it’s been, I am surprised at how quickly I have started to settle in. I know there are still a lot of things to learn, but I feel in some ways like I’ve been part of the community for more than a year. I owe that in part to my colleagues who have gone out of their way to make me feel not just welcome but a part of the team. I really enjoy being surrounded - literally! - by so many microbiologists. It’s pushing me to expand beyond my areas of expertise in terms of research and teaching. Working with the students has been great, too. Their questions and feedback in class and outside of class continue to shape my approach to teaching science and to reconsider what is possible.