Nitya Jacob

Nitya Jacob is Professor of Biology and Director of the Oxford Center for Teaching and Scholarship at Oxford College of Emory University, where she joined the faculty in fall 2002. She earned a B.A. in Biology with honors, Phi Beta Kappa, from Agnes Scott College in 1995 and a Ph.D. in Horticulture and Crop Science from The Ohio State University in 2000. Prior to Emory, she served as an NSF Teaching Postdoctoral Associate at Knox College from 2000 to 2002. At Oxford College, she led the Biology department from 2008 to 2017, chaired the Natural Science and Mathematics Division from 2017 to 2024, directed the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program from 2006 to 2012, and was appointed Interim Director and then Director of the Oxford Center for Teaching and Scholarship in 2024.

Dr. Jacob's disciplinary expertise encompasses plant biotechnology, cell biology, genetics, molecular biology, and applied biology. Her earlier research investigated microbial communities associated with granite outcrop plants using molecular techniques, nodule-expressed genes in Rhizobium-alfalfa symbiosis, and the evolutionary background of anionic peroxidase gene regulation in Nicotiana tabacum. Her current scholarly projects focus on science education, including the integration of authentic research into introductory biology curricula, such as Biology 142 on microbial communities from Arabia Mountain. Select publications include Fink et al., PULSE Ambassadors program: empowering departments to transform STEM education for inclusion and student success (Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education, 2024); Jacob, Investigating Arabia Mountain: A Molecular Approach (Science, 2012); Jacob and Heisel, A faculty-librarian partnership for investigative learning in the introductory biology laboratory (Journal of College Science Teaching, 2008); and Jacob, Initiating Partnerships in Scientific Discovery at a Two-Year College via the Introductory Curriculum (Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly, 2008). Honors include the Science Prize for Inquiry-Based Instruction (2012), Vision and Change Leadership Fellow for PULSE (2012), American Society of Microbiology Biology Scholar (2011), Biology Division Councilor for the Council on Undergraduate Research (2010-2016), and President of PULSE (2022-2024). Her work has advanced undergraduate mentorship and inquiry-based learning in biology.

Professional Email: njacob@emory.edu