• About
• Mission
• History
• His Holiness the Dalai Lama
• Our Team
• ETSI Unit Leaders

KRISTEN FRENZEL, Ph.D.  

Kristen Frenzel is the Associate Director of Education and Outreach for the Center for Advanced Motor BioEngineeering and Research (CAMBER) and an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology. Previous to this position, she was a Teaching in Emory College of Arts and Sciences and the Associate Director of the Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology program where she taught undergraduate students for 17 years. Her scholarship interests include generating pedagogical tools for active engagement in neuroscience courses and focusing on creating inclusive teaching and research spaces for all students to thrive. Since 2015, Dr. Frenzel has worked with the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative (ETSI) Neuroscience team to develop the curriculum and distance learning content and as a teaching faculty member in the ETSI summer programs in India. She is currently leading the Neuroscience track of the Sustainability Phase of ETSI.

JANE C. O'CONNOR, Ph.D.

Jane O’Connor is the Director of the English Language Learning Program (ELLP) for Emory College of Arts and Sciences. During the course of her career she has lived and taught in England, Spain and the U.S., and it has been her pleasure to teach (and learn from!) students from all over the world. Working with the Tenzin Gyatso Science Scholars at Emory has been one of her greatest joys. Dr. Connor holds a B. A (Hons) in Sociology and English from Leicester University in England, a M.Ed TESOL  (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from The College of New Jersey, and an Ed.D in Learning, Leadership and Organizational Development from the University of Georgia.  In addition, she holds several national and international teaching certificates. Dr. Connor is also the author of the popular series of ESL books: English the American Way, Celebrate the American Way and College the American Way.

MEENA BALGOPAL, Ph.D.

Meena Balgopal is professor of biology at Colorado State University, where she focuses on discipline-based educational research. Her training is diverse and spans agro-ecology, insect ecology, and science education. For the past 15 years she has been studying the role that instructional strategies have on learners’ scientific (especially, environmental) literacy. Dr. Balgopal's research interests center on “writing to learn,” group work, and place-based curricula. Her research is conducted in both formal (school and university science classrooms) and informal (citizen science, community gardens, NGO) settings.

DR. JOHN MALKO, Ph.D.

Dr. John Malko leads the physics group and advises on the mathematics curriculum for ETSI. He is on the Radiology faculty of the Emory School of Medicine and has an adjunct appointment in the Physics Department, where he teaches astronomy and medical physics. He also teaches physics in Gradys School of Radiologic Technology. Dr. Malko has been involved in ETSI's monastic science education programs since its pilot phase. 

NICOLE GERARDO, Ph.D.

Nicole Gerardo is a professor in the Department of Biology at Emory University. Her laboratory’s research focuses on the ecology and evolution of host-microbe interactions. At Emory, she teaches undergraduate evolutionary biology and runs the undergraduate research for credit program. As part of ETSI, she has taught introductory biology and an introduction to research course. In her teaching, she is particularly interested in integrating authentic research experiences into classroom instruction. Dr. Gerardo co-leads the Research Training program of ETSI's Sustainability Phase with Dr. Nusslock.

ROBIN NUSSLOCK, Ph.D.

Robin Nusslock is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University where he serves as Director of the Affective & Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory. His research uses neuroscientific methods to investigate brain systems underlying human thought and emotion, and the involvement of these systems in mental and physical health. As part of ETSI, he has taught on the neuroscience of emotion and memory and he has a lifelong interest in the science of meditation. Dr. Nusslock co-leads the Research Training program of ETSI's Sustainability Phase with Dr. Gerardo. 

TSONDUE SAMPHEL, MA

Tsondue Samphel received his B.S. in physics from Emory College in 2006. Prior to that, he studied at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, India where he obtained his M.A. and B.A. equivalents in Buddhist studies. Tsondue joined Emory-Tibet Science Initiative (ETSI) as a translator-cum-research assistant in 2006. He has ever since been part of the ETSI and translated, reviewed and edited the ETSI primers. Tsondue is also involved in an ongoing effort to create and build up scientific lexicon in Tibetan. He is currently working as the international program coordinator for Social, Emotional and Ethical Learning (SEE Learning), a K-12 education program at Emory University to teach social, emotional and ethical intelligence to the students. He leads the Buddhism and Science Integration Unit of the ETSI Sustainability Phase.