Jamie Catanese

Jamie Catanese, Ph.D., serves as Associate Teaching Professor of BioSciences at Rice University, where he has been affiliated since 2004. Holding a Ph.D. from Rice University, Daniel J. Catanese, Jr., known professionally as Jamie Catanese, focuses on undergraduate education in the biological sciences. He teaches introductory flipped bioscience lectures for first-year students, such as BIOS 216, intermediate course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) in experimental biosciences, and acts as the natural sciences instructor in a summer bridge program to enhance STEM retention and performance. Catanese chairs undergraduate advising for declared majors with last names beginning with certain letters and leads the Laboratory Program in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry through the Take Flight STEM Pathway, offering paid, short-term research experiences to students from local community colleges.

Catanese has earned accolades for his teaching, including the 2024 George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching, determined by votes from alumni who graduated within the past two, three, and five years, and the 2023 Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Wiess School of Natural Sciences. A member of the Council on Undergraduate Research and an associate of the National Institute on Scientific Teaching, he implements innovative CUREs that pair competency-based lab skills—like aseptic technique, microscopy, and electrophoresis—with client-serving research projects, resulting in higher student GPAs, increased STEM major retention, and greater mentored research participation. His research includes co-authoring "DNA supercoiling-induced shapes alter minicircle hydrodynamic properties" (Nucleic Acids Research, 2023) and earlier works on Hox transcription factors, such as "Ultrabithorax, an Intrinsically Disordered Protein, Selects Protein Partners Based on Their Shape" (Biophysical Journal, 2011). He is a co-inventor on patents for supercoiled minicircle technology. Catanese's philosophy, summarized by the acronym RESPECT, stresses empathetic communication to build trust and realize every student's potential.

Professional Email: djc98@rice.edu