Lisa Adams, Ph.D.

Dr. Lisa Adams joined the Teaching and Learning Commons as the Interim Assessment Lead on July 1, 2023. Before coming to The Commons, she served as the Associate Chair at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) since February 2020. While at SIO, Lisa was responsible for leading the curriculum review for SIO’s doctoral programs, developing and implementing a mentor training program, developing holistic teaching review guidelines, facilitating remote and distance education, and advising instructional assistants. Shortly after arriving at UC San Diego, Lisa received a Changemaker Faculty Fellowship from UC San Diego’s Changemaker Institute. The fellowship supported her community-engaged work in developing a mentoring partnership between undergraduate students at SIO and K-12 students at the Ocean Discovery Institute. Lisa is committed to supporting accessible, equitable, inclusive, and culturally aware educational experiences that promote student success for undergraduate and graduate students. 

Before joining UC San Diego in 2020, Lisa was an Associate Professor of Biology at Kennesaw State University (KSU). In 2018, Lisa was appointed the Associate Director of the University Honors Program, where she mentored honors students through their capstone experience and taught environmental science and interdisciplinary team research courses. If asked what her favorite experience as a professor was, Lisa would passionately reply that leading study-abroad trips in Italy over three consecutive summers was her most satisfying educational experience. Lisa received two fellowships at KSU that supported her interest in advancing STEM education and sustainability.

Over the years, Lisa’s research has focused on aquatic ecology, ranging from fish and otter studies to measuring anthropogenic effects on water quality. She has actively promoted ocean literacy work with the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA) and other non-profit agencies, where she helped establish community-based partnerships devoted to monitoring the condition of local waterways. Lisa earned her M.S. in Biology from San Deigo State University and her Ph.D. in Biology from UC Los Angeles, where she studied the auditory capabilities of river otters and assessed zebrafish as models for bioassays. Lisa enjoys walking, tennis, and traveling when she is not working.