Alexandra D. Simmons N., Ph.D. is a tenured professor and pre-health advisor in the Biology Department at the University of St. Thomas, Houston. She received her B.Ed. in biological sciences from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (Venezuela) and her Ph.D. in human population genetics from the Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (Venezuela), followed by postdoctoral training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She has taught undergraduate genetics for over 15 years and her research focuses on undergraduate scientific learning.