Teaching and Service

Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of mind to think

– Albert Einstein.

The Kenchanmae-Raju lab’s main objective is to create an inclusive learning environment for the next generation of plant scientists. This includes teaching in the classroom and mentoring students and postdocs in the lab. Academia has historically struggled with diversity and inclusivity. Acknowledging the challenges faced by underrepresented colleagues and implementing a framework to remove barriers that hinder equal representation is the crucial first step towards achieving equity and promoting diversity. My teaching philosophy consists of three essential aspects: The first one is to establish an inclusive and supportive environment that facilitates student learning regardless of their backgrounds. The second aspect is to utilize the latest pedagogy, including curriculum design that incorporates active learning. Lastly, I aim to involve students in scientific thinking and enterprise.

I co-founded Plant Postdocs, an international organization with a mission to create an inclusive community for all postdocs working in plant-related areas worldwide. Our initiatives include Spring and Fall webinars for academic and industry job application preparations and a Slack channel as a safe space for postdocs to interact and help each other. We have a diverse leadership team that runs the everyday business of the organization and is mentored by me and a set of advisory board members with diverse backgrounds, such as faculty at R1, PUI, large Industry, small start-ups, etc. All these resources are easily accessible on our webpage, YouTube channel, and other platforms such as ‘WeChat’ to reach out to postdocs in Asia