Biography
Wandinger-Ness received a B.S. degree in Biochemistry (1979) from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA. She earned her PhD (1985) in Biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles, CA. Following receipt of her PhD degree she completed postdoctoral training at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany (1986-1991). She took an appointment as Assistant Professor, in the Dept. of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Cell Biology, at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (1991-1998). Wandinger-Ness has been on faculty in the Dept. of Pathology at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center from 1998 to the present.
Personal Statement
Passionate about science and education, Dr. Wandinger-Ness is motivated by sleuthing disease mechanisms and translating discoveries into better or new therapies. For nearly 30 years she has led a vibrant research team that includes students and fellows studying kidney disease and ovarian cancer. In the area of kidney disease she has elucidated the mechanisms underlying autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, relationships to oral-cranio-facial disease, and developing strategies for kidney regeneration through the use of stem cells and decellularized scaffolds. In the cancer arena, Wandinger-Ness and her team have identified new uses for known drugs and evaluated the benefits for ovarian cancer in patient trials.
Wandinger-Ness has authored over 90 peer-reviewed articles and reviews; and has eight awarded patents. Dr. Wandinger-Ness is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, served as a Visiting Professor at the Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology in Dortmund, Germany, and a Research Ambassador for the German Academic Exchange Program. Through formal teaching and mentoring she has launched the careers of hundreds of undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral trainees, and junior faculty. She is the recipient of numerous awards for excellence in research, innovation and education. Most recently she was recognized as the 2019 Innovation Fellow by UNM.STC/Lobo Rainforest Innovations, the 2020 American Association for the Advancement of Science Lifetime Mentor, and the US Presidential Awardee for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. She attributes her success to her abilities to communicate, engage with diverse people, and secure funding, and to an entrepreneurial spirit.
Areas of Specialty
Interrelationships between cellular function and disease pathology
GTPase targeted small molecules and their potentials in cancer therapy
Kidney repair and regeneration
Education and Mentoring as PI of multiple extramural training programs
Administrative and Leadership Expertise as Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies; President New Mexico Academy of Science, Vice Chair for Research
Certifications
Negotiation
Facilitation
Promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Good Clinical Practice
NSF Becoming the Messenger
Alan Alda Communicating Science
Achievements & Awards
Distinguished Teaching Award, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, 1981
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Service Award. Predoctoral Trainee (Genetics), 1984-1985
Chancellor's Graduate Research Grant. University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 1984
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Service Award. Postdoctoral Fellow (General Medical Sciences), 1986-1989
European Molecular Biology Laboratory Fellow, 1989
Cancer Research Institute Fellow, 1990-1991
National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Awardee,1995-2000
AHA Established Investigator Awardee,2000-2003
Medical Education Scholar, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, 2000-present
Faculty Teaching Excellence Award in Graduate Education, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, 2002
Nominee National Science Foundation (NSF) Distinguished Teaching Scholar, 2003
Nominee Regents Professor 2007, 2008
Creative Awards Recipient, Science and Technology Corporation. University of New Mexico, 2011
ASCB Pressbook Selected Abstract (One of nine selected from among ~2000 abstracts presented at the American Society for Cell Biology Meeting for special recognition in Pressbook and You Tube video), 2011
DAAD Visiting Professor Max-Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology (October), 2011
Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2012
Finalist, Dean, Office of Graduate Studies, University of New Mexico, 2012
Women in Technology Award, New Mexico Technology Council, 2012
DAAD (German Academic Exchange) Research Ambassador, 2013
Nominee University of New Mexico Research Award (withdrew from consideration), 2014
Innovation Award Recipient, STC.UNM. University of New Mexico, 2015
Nominee University of New Mexico Research Award, 2015
Nominee University of New Mexico Research Award (withdrew from consideration), 2016
Innovation Award Recipient, STC.UNM. University of New Mexico, 2016
Innovation Award Recipient, STC.UNM. University of New Mexico, 2017
Senior Faculty Research Excellence Award for Basic Science, University of New Mexico Research Award, 2017
Innovation Award Recipient, STC.UNM. University of New Mexico, 2018
Science2StartUp Semi-finalist: One of 60 out of 170 total applicants selected for second round for May 2019 Venture Capitalist pitch held in Boston, MA, 2018
Innovation Fellow, a special honor accorded annually to a leader in innovation and entrepreneurship. STC.UNM. University of New Mexico, 2019
Research Excellence Award in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, University of New Mexico Research Award, 2019
Lifetime Mentor Award, American Association for the Advancement of Science. A special honor for researchers who, for 25 years or more, have positively impacted the atmosphere of a department or institution by mentoring students from communities that are underrepresented in STEM fields, such as women, African American, Native American and Hispanic men, and people with disabilities, 2020
Innovation Award Recipient, STC.UNM. University of New Mexico, 2020
Recipient U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, 2019/2020
NMAS Outstanding Contributions to Science in New Mexico award, 2020
Innovation Award Recipient, STC.UNM. University of New Mexico, 2021
Gender
Female
Languages
- English
- German
Courses Taught
It is my educational philosophy to support STEM workforce diversification, through education and training practices that are inclusive, individualized and experiential.
A pivotal moment in actuating my abilities to motivate student learning and persistence came through completion of a yearlong Medical Education Scholars (MES) program. I had training and practical experience as a graduate teaching assistant and knew how to reframe concepts that were hard and guide students in successful problem solving. I leveraged the idea that undergraduates would benefit from guided reading of the scientific literature and peer group discussions; implemented through an Early Stage Career Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation. However, it was through MES that I first learned the pedagogical principles that motivate adult learning. With my new toolkit I began to deliberately connect learning objectives to assessment and to strategically reinforce lifelong learning skills in the classroom. I systematically developed new inquiry-based courses, implemented graduate course and program reforms, and built training programs for learners from the high school student to the post-doctoral fellow levels. The effectiveness of the strategies is validated through an Academic Program Review, annual institutional Curriculum Assessments and Reviews, and the impact on hundreds of students who have persisted and pursued successful careers in science and medicine. MES also empowered me to take on more global leadership as past Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies, and current elected member of the AAMC GREAT* Steering Committee and Associate Director of Education, Training and Mentoring for the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center.
As a mature scientist and educator I have three goals: the first is to enable engaged, experiential science learning, the second is to promote near-peer learning and professional skill building to advance individual career goals, and the third is to strive for scholarly excellence. To realize the first goal, I have worked collaboratively to establish courses and internship programs that enable students from diverse backgrounds to engage in thinking about or solving current scientific questions and to work in a relevant laboratory or community context. To realize the second goal, I have established pipeline programs that engage diverse trainees across a spectrum from the high school to the junior faculty levels. Engaging trainees as near-peer mentors serves to integrate the practices of teaching and learning science among peers. Such communities of practice also serve to honor diversity of experience and thought, encourage network building, role modeling, career and professional skill building. Finally, I realize the third goal by never losing my roots as a practicing scientist, which requires hypothesis driven, evidence based practice that is built on the work of other scholars. In my teaching and my science, I incorporate best practices from the work of others, and use learner centered 'SMART'# learning objectives to guide rigorous assessment of interventions. Collectively, the impact of achieving the three goals is measured through trainee presentations at scientific meetings, authorship on publications, and independent grant awards. As documented in my CV, several hundred learners have honed their own interests, and acquired the skills to persist and pursue productive careers in science and medicine. I strive to maintain connections through online platforms and take great pride in the manifold successes of former trainees.
*American Association of Medical Colleges Graduate, Research, Education and Training. #Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely
Research and Scholarship
Delineating the interfaces between membrane trafficking and signaling - which are responsible for maintaining normal cell architecture and function - and determining how their disruption leads to organ dysfunction and cancer are core research emphases. We integrate quantitative measurement, chemical biology, and systems biology to probe and selectively target GTPase regulated pathways governing endocytosis, cell polarity, adhesion and migration. We have established Rho GTPases as high value, druggable targets in ovarian cancer. Novel Rab and K-Ras GTPase targeted compounds have potential utility for neurologic and kidney diseases, and cancer. In parallel, we have developed strategies for kidney regeneration by integrating stem cell biology, and tissue engineering.