Professor Alessandra Leri joins Northeastern University as Associate Teaching Professor and Director of Academic Programs for the College of Science in New York City. She has a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Princeton University and 20 years of experience teaching undergraduate chemistry courses at Marymount Manhattan College. Her research areas include geochemistry, urban environmental health, and chemical education. She has published several papers on science pedagogy, with the theme of promoting persistence in STEM undergraduates. Professor Leri has also mentored students in projects spanning areas from food chemistry to soil biogeochemistry to environmental health.
Her group uses synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy to examine the structure of environmental samples. She also conducts citizen science themed research quantifying pathogenic microbes in the built environment of NYC. Professor Leri’s research students have won numerous awards at undergraduate research symposia and contributed to many publications, including a recent study linking fecal bacteria on indoor floors to sidewalk contamination in NYC. This work attracted global media attention and led to a follow-up on the profusion of fecal contamination in NYC playground sandboxes.
Professor Leri is passionate about broadening representation in science and believes that closely mentored research and teaching experiences are the most powerful tools to achieve that aim.