Rachel A. Bergstrom
Associate Professor and Department Chair of Biology
Pronouns: she/her/hers Email: bergstromr@beloit.edu Phone: 608-363-2367 Schedule an Appointment Office: Room 336, Sanger Center for the SciencesI am a neuroscientist who studies epilepsy through analysis of electroencephalograms, or EEGs. I use computational methods to detect and analyze electrical events related to epilepsy, with the goal of ultimately predicting (and preventing!) seizures.
I teach biology courses that focus on the cellular and molecular aspects of biology, including cell biology, neuroscience, cancer biology, and emerging infectious diseases. I love how Beloit students dig into these classes and build new knowledge and skills through active inquiry and thoughtful engagement with complicated concepts. And I love that students at Beloit love to connect their lives across courses and experiences as they learn more about our world and its people.
I love to learn about my students, to understand who they are and where they are coming from, to help them build context for the work we do in our classes. I am often inspired by conversations with students during office hours to create new activities in the classroom or to check out a new bingeable TV show. I enjoy helping students find their way through their Beloit Experience, whether it is to help them connect the dots between where they are now and that perfect career they’ve known they’re headed for since they were 5 or to support them as they explore and try out a number of different things to find what may come next. In either case, it’s one of the many joys of my work to see students grow and learn who they are to themselves and the world.
In addition to a deep and abiding love for building excitement in 8 AM biology classes, I love to run, knit, garden, and watch sci-fi tv shows. I live in (and love) the community of Beloit, and I am a member of the Rock County Board of Health.
