Education

B.S., Biology, Indiana University, 1993
M.S., Biology Purdue University, 1996
Ph.D., Human Pathology, Ohio State University, 2001
FIRST Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Human Genetics, 2001-2004

Research Statement

Large schools, such as the Big Ten institutions that I have attended, are often excellent facilities to educate students in the techniques and critical thought processes needed to execute a scientific research program. Unfortunately in many cases this training excludes many of the other skills necessary to successfully direct a research laboratory including business- management skills and teaching didactics. Without formal instruction into these areas, new faculty members are forced to learn them in a "trial by fire" manner if they develop these skills at all. The Fellowships in Research and Science Teaching (FIRST) program, and similar programs now funded by the NIH, recognizes the deficit that many new doctoral graduates have in their ability to effectively educate. By cultivating a mentoring relationship between the fellow and a faculty member at one of the traditional minority colleges in Atlanta, post-docs directly interact with and learn from outstanding educators in the sciences. The opportunities for fellows at one of these schools can vary greatly ranging from the instruction of at least one course to developing new courses, creating web based teaching supplements, enhancing supplies through grant proposals, and mentoring undergraduate students. For the research portion of the program, I worked in the laboratory of Dr. Stephanie Sherman. While I have not decided whether I will pursue a position at a large, research school or a smaller one focusing more on education, the skills I developed in the FIRST will make me a more effective faculty member at either type of institution.

Recent Publications

Pyatt, R.E., Rosser, T., Powell, K. (2009) Undergraduates as Science Museum Docents.  Training students to be the teachers using Peer Led Team Learning.  The American Biology Teacher. 71(1):16-19.

Pyatt, R.E., Mihal, D.C., Prior, T.W.  (2007) Assessment of liquid microbead arrays for the screening of newborns for spinal muscular atrophy. Clin Chem. 53(11):1879-85.

Pyatt, R.E., Prior, T.W. (2006) A feasibility study for the newborn screening of spinal muscular atrophy. Genet Med. 8(7):428-37.

Pyatt, R.E., Pilarski, R. and Prior, T.W. (2006) Mutation screening in juvenile polyposis syndrome. J Mol Diagn. 8(1):84-8.

Holtzclaw, J.D., Pyatt, R., Giver, C.R., Eaton, D., Haynes, J.K., Gunn, R.B. and Eisen, A. (2005) FIRST: A Model for Developing New Science Faculty. Journal of College Science Teaching, 34:24-29.

Kerstann, K.F., Feingold, E., Freeman, S.B., Bean, L.J., Pyatt, R., Tinker, S., Jewel, A.H., Capone, G., Sherman, S.L. (2004) Linkage disequilibrium mapping in trisomic populations: analytical approaches and an application to congenital heart defects in Down syndrome. Genet Epidemiol. 27(3):240-51.

Pyatt, R.E., Nakagawa, H., Hampel, H., Sedra, M., Fuchik, M.B., Comeras, I., de la Chapelle, A., Prior, T.W. (2003) Identification of a deletion in the mismatch repair gene, MSH2, using mouse-human cell hybrids monosomal for chromosome 2. Clin Genet. 63(3):215-8.

Chadwick, R.B., Pyatt, R.E., Niemann, T.H., Richards, S.K., Johnson, C.K., Stevens, M.W., Meek, J.E., Hampel, H., Prior, T.W., de la Chapelle, A. (2001) Hereditary and somatic DNA mismatch repair gene mutations in sporadic endometrial carcinoma. J Med Genet. 38(7):461-6.

Nationwide Children's Hospital
Cytogenetics/Molecular Genetics
700 Children's Drive
Columbus, OH 43205
Tel: 614.722.2870 (direct)
Fax: 614.722.5471
Email: Robert.Pyatt@nationwidechildrens.org