Michelle Cavallo
Education
- Ph.D., Florida Atlantic University, 2019
Research Interests
- STEM Education
- Citizen Science
- Undergraduate Research Experiences
- Informatics
Research Description
My research program is two pronged. The ‘wet’ prong focuses on the isolation and characterization of newly-discovered, student-sourced, antibiotic-producing bacteria from soil through participation in the Tiny Earth program at FAU. Approximately 400 undergraduate, non-STEM majors per year participate in Tiny Earth at FAU and new antibiotic producers continue to be found each semester.
The ‘dry’ prong studies effects of participation in enrichment opportunities such as Tiny Earth on student outcome measures including, for example, retention rates, completion rates, and post-graduation success (graduate/professional degree attainment, gainful employment) as well as on student experience with an emphasis on engagement, sense of belonging, and mattering as members of student teams making meaningful contributions through participation in real research.
Recent Publications
- Cavallo, M. F., Kats, A. M., Chen, R., Hartmann, J. X., and Pavlovic M. (2012). A novel method for real-time, continuous, fluorescence-based analysis of anti-DNA abzyme activity in Systemic Lupus . Autoimmune Diseases; doi: 10.1155/2012/814048.
- Pavlovic, M., Cavallo, M., Kats, A., Kotlarchyk, A., Zhuang, H., and Shoenfeld, Y. (2011) From Pauling’s abzyme concept to the new era of hydrolytic anti-DNA autoantibodies: a link to rational vaccine design? – A review, Int. J. Bioinformatics Research and Applications 7(3):220-238.
- Pavlovic, M., Kats, A.M., Cavallo, M., and Shoenfeld, Y. (2010) Clinical and molecular evidence for association of SLE with parvovirus B19. Lupus 19(7):783-792.
- Pavlovic, M., Kats A.M., Cavallo, M., Chen, R., Hartmann, J.X., and Shoenfeld, Y. (2010) Pathogenic and epiphenomenal anti-DNA antibodies in SLE. Autoimmune Diseases; doi:10.4061/2010/462841.