Jamie Fornsaglio, PhD, Contributing Writer

Seton Hill University
Murrysville, PA

Jamie Fornsaglio is a Professor of Biology at Seton Hill University, where she teaches Cell Biology and Laboratory, Medical Genetics and Laboratory Molecular Biology, and Human Biology and Medicine. She earned her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Oncology from The George Washington University. She is passionate about evidence-based science in decision-making. From 2020-2022, Jamie was in a COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial and proudly sported a t-shirt saying, “Donated my body to science so you can eat in restaurants.”

Jamie’s previous laboratory research experiences have included understanding the DNA damage responses in pluripotent stem cells, elucidating the role of DNA repair mechanisms in chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity, and investigating questions related to air pollution and lung cell toxicity. Most recently, she took a sabbatical to study cell signaling in the pathogenesis of cholestatic liver disease at the University of Pittsburgh.

In the classroom at Seton Hill University, Jamie is interested in design-based and interdisciplinary strategies for learning in laboratory sciences and the impact of semester-long authentic research on student experiences. She is the author of an eBook on Writing in Biology and a manual for her Cell Biology Laboratory class. She is a member of the advisory board for Gender and Women’s Studies at Seton Hill University and is particularly interested in investigating gender biases in science and medicine.

In her personal life, Jamie enjoys spending time with her family, especially her husband and two children. She can often be found in the stands of a swimming pool or on the sidelines of a soccer field cheering on her daughters.