Alisha Russell
- Associate Professor, Biology
- School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematicsl
- B.S., Baker University
- Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
Contact Info
Alisha loves research but her true passion is teaching and mentoring students. She worked as a laboratory TA during her time as an undergraduate student at Baker University in Baldwin City, Ks., where she earned a double major in chemistry and biology. She sought out many teaching experiences while in graduate school at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. were she earned her Ph.D. in Cancer Biology. Alisha earned a Teaching Certificate from the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching and the Graduate School. As she neared the completion of her Ph.D., Alisha led multiple guest lectures at Trevecca in our Cancer Biology course. She fell in love with the students. Their passion for Christ, for science and for people was evident; When a position opened, she jumped at the chance to apply and has been here ever since. Before coming to Trevecca, Alisha had conducted research on diverse topics ranging from synthetic gene delivery vectors (like those used for the new mRNA vaccines), Borrelia spirochete strains (which cause Lyme disease and relapsing fever) and transcription factors in breast cancer that contribute to EMT and ErbB independence (important for understanding why breast cancer can gain resistance to mAB and TKI therapies). On campus she has continued research into novel ways of targeting breast cancer cells and added cadaver-based anatomy research to the mix with the focus being mentoring students. Alisha and her husband have three adopted children and a golden retriever with whom she enjoys spending her free time.
