FAST Fellow Bios

2025-2026 FAST Fellows

Ayesha Maliwal Bundy is a second-year doctoral student in the Program in Mathematics Education (PRIME). Her research lies at the intersection of pedagogy, trauma, and identity, with a focus on how different teaching strategies contextually shape learning outcomes for diverse student populations in undergraduate mathematics classrooms. She is passionate about helping redesign mathematics courses and curriculum to be student-centered, inclusive, and to foster a sense of belonging and healing. As a FAST Fellow, Ayesha would like to explore how undergraduate mathematics instructors conceptualize and enact active learning in their classroom and connect it with student experiences and learning outcomes.

Chandler Hendrickson is a second-year PhD student in the Department of Plant Biology and the Molecular Plant Science program. His research focuses on how microgreen algae (Chlamydomonas) regulate iron homeostasis. Before arriving at Michigan State University, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology and an Associate of Science in Natural Science from Ferris State University. Having worked in various research labs, he found the most joy in teaching friends and family about the technology and methods he used. He confirmed his passion for teaching during his first year of graduate school as a teaching assistant. As a FAST Fellow, Chandler seeks to understand how students' perception of course relevancy influences the persistence of both Biology and non-Biology majors. In his free time, Chandler enjoys gardening, reading, playing video games, and chess.

Tessa Jordan is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Her research focuses on understanding pancreatic cancer metabolism and how it differs from healthy tissue, with the ultimate goal of identifying metabolic targets that can be leveraged for novel treatment strategies. As a FAST Fellow, she is interested in exploring how different types of instructors (e.g. ULAs, GTAs, and professors) influence student learning and outcomes. During her undergraduate career, Tessa served as a Supplemental Instruction Leader (SIL), facilitating study sessions outside of class to encourage independent learning. This experience sparked her passion for education and shaped her research question, as she noticed that students often found SI sessions especially valuable for building confidence with material that had been difficult to grasp in class. She hopes this research will help inform teaching and learning strategies that can be adopted across different instructors to promote student success.

Shashini Marasinghe is a fifth-year graduate student in the Department of Mathematics. Her research focuses on quantum low-dimensional topology, with particular interest in the volume conjecture for Seifert fibered and hyperbolic 3-manifolds. She has developed a strong record of teaching and mentoring over the past four years, serving as an instructor of record, teaching assistant, and Lead TA, in addition to mentoring undergraduates in both coursework and research. As a FAST Fellow, she plans to investigate how the integration of {\LaTeX} into "transition to proofs" courses can support students in strengthening their proof-writing skills and techniques. When not immersed in mathematics, she enjoys practicing oil portrait painting and bringing energy to the dance floor through Zumba.

Ian McCrary is a third year PhD candidate in the Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB) program. His research focus is cell specification in early development, specifically in preimplantation embryos. He hopes this research can contribute to IVF and stem cell culturing methods. Ian has a lifelong passion for public speaking. He has experience leading lectures while TAing in undergraduate life science classes and teaching English as a second language in Madagascar. He feels happiest at work when seeing an audience connect with technical or difficult material and firmly believes that a good instructor can make any topic interesting. He is interested in studying pedagogical techniques, especially as they relate to student outcomes in comprehension and enjoyment of class participation. As a FAST Fellow, Ian would like to pursue a teaching as research project studying student retention of material under low and high stress assessment conditions. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and new daughter, watching as many movies as he can, cooking, and board gaming.

Jordan Parker is a doctoral candidate in the School of Criminal Justice (SCJ) at Michigan State University. His topical research interests include community-based violence interventions (CVI), firearm violence, program evaluation, juvenile justice and delinquency, and police misconduct. He is a community-engaged researcher working with practitioners and justice-involved individuals to improve individual and community outcomes. Jordan’s teaching experience includes serving as an instructor of record in the School of Criminal Justice, as well as providing various guest lectures and completing multiple teaching workshops. Jordan is also passionate about providing undergraduate students with hands-on research experiences, having served as a former McNair Advisor and a graduate facilitator for the Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) at MSU. As a Fast Fellow, Jordan is interested in examining the impact of providing first-generation students or students from underrepresented identities with hands-on research experience on enhancing critical thinking and problem-solving skills, communication skills, and their decision to enroll in a graduate program.

Maura Philippone (she/her), MA, CCC-SLP, is a third-year PhD candidate in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders. As a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist (SLP), her research investigates how SLPs can leverage innovative approaches and technologies (e.g., XR and game-based speech approaches) to enhance treatment outcomes for adults with neurogenic voice and speech difficulties. As a FAST Fellow, Maura's project will focus on enhancing neuroanatomy education for MSU CSD students. Maura and her colleague co-designed "CN Vision," a novel, gamified cranial nerve review tool that uses augmented reality (AR) technology to bolster students' neuroanatomy knowledge application in real-world contexts. Supported by this fellowship, she is leading a two-phase study to conduct user experience/usability testing (phase 1) and experimental testing (phase 2) of the "CN Vision" tool.

Devashish Saurav After completing a BA (Hons.) and MA in History from the University of Delhi, Devashish pursued an MSc in Heritage Conservation and Management the Wildlife Institute of India, UNESCO C2C. Devashish is currently a PhD researcher at Michigan State University in the Department of Anthropology. His academic interests lie in understanding how communities live on and with the land, maintaining relationships with landscapes through everyday practices of resource use and management. He is particularly interested in human–non-human interactions, including how animal health and care contribute to sustaining pastoral livelihoods and food systems. Devashish’s current research focuses on issues of food security and conservation-induced dispossession in India, exploring how these processes impact livestock-dependent communities and their ability to sustain their pastoral ways of life.

Farnaz Tajik is fourth year PhD candidate in the Department of Plant Biology and her research is in biology education. Her interdisciplinary projects bring psychology and education together to study students' perception about plants. Farnaz is a former K-12 teacher and is interested in teaching and learning in higher education. Therefore, by joining this program she aims to improve her abilities, skills and knowledge in the relevant area as well as strengthen what she has learned in practice by conducting a mentor-guided project.

Bella Molina is a 6th year PhD student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Her research is on classical novae with evolved companions, with a focus on recurrent novae in radio wavelengths. She has tutored math and physics, been a supplemental instructor and a TA, as well as a mentor to an undergraduate student. In addition to this, she has been co-director of the Physics and Astronomy Research Experiences for Drew Scholars (PAREDS) program for five years. As a FAST Fellow she is interested in how we teach physics and astronomy. She would like to investigate methods for building student resilience and the effectiveness of highlighting the importance of STEM topics in student lives as a way of increasing student engagement and motivation in class. After graduation she will be looking for jobs as a community college professor teaching physics or astronomy. Outside of work Bella likes to read and practice cello.