Staff
The DNALC's multi-disciplinary staff has experience in elementary, secondary, and collegiate instruction; biochemistry and molecular biological research; computer programming; design, photography, fine arts, and interior design; science journalism; public relations and development; and opinion research.
- Administration
- BioMedia
- Education & Instruction
Jennifer Aiello
Instructor/Lab Assistant
Jennifer Aiello is no longer working at the DNA Learning Center.
My favorite books that my Dad read to me before I went to bed were not the traditional “Winnie the Pooh” and “Barney”. No, instead I loved books on weather and rocks. My Dad, tired of reading the same books night after night, would skip pages and I would always catch him- prompting him to wonder why I didn’t just read the books myself!
From that point on I’ve always had a fascination for the sciences and my dad has always been the one to help me with whatever project I wanted to try next. When in middle school, my parents and I would sit around the TV (Tuesdays at 9pm on Discovery Channel) and watch New Detectives, a documentary-type show on forensic science. I fell immediately in love with the science of forensic science.
In high school I was accepted into an Independent Science Research class which had my dad and I testing the laws of physics as it applied to Blood Spatter Patterns in the basement of our home using a strange concoction of red food coloring mixed with syrup and cocoa powder to simulate blood; and green paper situated in ways to represent different surface angles. Throughout high school as others were at football games, I was busy making a mess.
In high school I became an intern at the Dolan DNA Learning Center, and remained for many years. Throughout my high school and college years, I learned many important laboratory techniques and even went as far as to become an intern for our free mtDNA Sequencing Service and for our Silencing Genomes C.elegans department.
After balancing my passion for the lab and my demanding college workload, I finally graduated from Long Island University: CW Post with a Bachelors Degree in Forensic Science and a minor in Chemistry. I have stayed at the place where my science laboratory explorations began and have since become one of our middle school educators. My favorite part about teaching is the excitement on the students’ faces when they start to make connections between what’s presented in class and their personal lives. One of my professors once said that if he gets an “Ohh” from a student when he or she makes a connection, he’s done his job. I have followed in his ways. That “Ohh” is the one thing that I teach for. Have you had your “Ohh” moment of the day?
