Alida Melse Email & Phone Number

United States

United States

Payette, Idaho, United States

Secondary science teacher (grades 9-12) at Payette High School. Over the course of 2 years, I instructed over 280 students in Biology, Environmental Science, and Integrated Science. Teaching practices include integrating phenomena and using standards-based grading for most of my classes. Lesson highlights:• Soil identification lab where students use multiple lines of evidence ranging from a soil texture analysis to an online database to identify their soil sample.• Ecocolumn lab where students build a terrarium + aquarium and monitor changes over time as we learn about energy flow and biogeochemical cycling.• Carbon cycle board game where students discover how carbon moves from one reservoir to another.• Natural selection simulation where students use different implements to pick up beans as food from the lawn outside. We complete several rounds and collect + analyze data about which implements resulted in the highest survival.• Phospholipid bilayer model where students use playdough and other modeling supplies to create a 3D model of the plasma membrane.• Mitosis stop-motion films where students model the phases of mitosis and transitions between each phase. Students then photograph and edit them into a stop motion film.• Mapping cancer mutations activity: Models of human chromosomes are hung around the classroom and students find the locus of 139 different genes commonly mutated in cancer. Students learn the functions of these genes along with the relative abundance of oncogenes and proto-oncogenes.

Teach For America (TFA) is dedicated to improving educational equity for all students. As a TFA corps member, I worked as a high school science teacher at my placement school in Payette, Idaho. Additionally, I participated in dozens of hours of professional development and through TFA, earned my Idaho State Teaching License.

Pullman, Washington, United States

• Identified nitrogen gradients across North Cascades National Park by performing mass spectrometry• Fieldwork: conducted extensive lichen sampling at remote locations for isotopic analysis• Honors Thesis focused on the sensitivity of mosses and lichens as bioindicators of nitrogen pollution

Pullman, Washington, United States

• Instructed two 25-student lab periods per week on topics such as microbial metabolism, microscopy, microbial identification, and proper aseptic technique• Facilitated student learning by delivering lectures, writing quizzes, and supervising experiments

Pullman, Washington, United States

• Led groups of six participants on over 30 trips such as backpacking, kayaking, trail maintenance, snowshoeing, and backcountry skiing• Helped participants to recreate responsibly by teaching outdoor skills, running workshops, evaluating trip logistics, and managing risk

Pullman, Washington, United States

• Provided technical assistance by performing DNA extractions, PCRs, gel electrophoresis, and Western Blots.• Supported laboratory through standard practices such as making buffers/media, working in a sterile environment, and developing excellent pipetting skills

Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany

• Full-time summer position funded by DAAD RISE Germany (20% acceptance rate)• Created a new Canhorabdidis elegans line to better study phospholipid flippase trafficking Identified likely extracellular vesicle inducers by performing RNAi against potential candidates