Kristopher (Kit) T. Keane, PhD
Associate Professor of Biology
Phone: (916) 378-3570
Kit.Keane@cnsu.edu
Education and Postdoctoral Training
- PhD in Biological Science at University of Tulsa, OK
- Teaching Credential in Education at University of California – Davis
- BA in English at University of California - Los Angeles
About
Dr. Kit Keane began his career as a high school teacher before pursuing higher education, and maintains a strong emphasis on the science of learning. With a broad background that includes experience in physical therapy and molecular population biology, Dr. Keane teaches introductory biology, anatomy and physiology, and genetics. His PhD work focused on developing novel molecular tools to explore landscape genetics in non-model organisms, especially to understand patterns of dispersal and how gene flow is influenced by social dynamics. In addition, he has previous experience teaching undergraduate biology courses at the University of Tulsa and Cosumnes River College. As an active member of the Sacramento science community and several biological societies, he frequently presents his continuing research at international conferences and has published his work in leading peer-reviewed journals.
Since receiving his degree, Dr. Keane has worked to incorporate active learning strategies and cutting-edge science into high school classrooms in the Sacramento area. His overall goal is to make science exciting by providing teachers and students the molecular tools to investigate their own relevant questions. Within this framework he has two major lines of research:
- Evaluating the effectiveness of pedagogical techniques as they pertain to student enthusiasm and overall success in science classes,
- Developing novel molecular tools to assess environmental effects on population genetics and physiological trait variation in locally abundant non-model taxa, especially in response to urbanization.