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Advisory Board

Pat Jones
patjones@stanford.edu

 

Pat Jones advises her undergraduates to keep doing what they love and the rest will work itself out. This is exactly how she made her way from an enthusiastic and bright high school student with an interest in science to become a top immunology researcher and instructor at one of the world's preeminent universities. "As an undergraduate, I had a wonderful microbiology and genetics professor who got me involved doing research for an up-and-coming faculty member in the field. It was through that experience that I discovered I loved research, and I decided to apply to graduate school. Both of those faculty members helped ratchet up my interest to the next notch. I kept doing what I loved, and here I am!"

Jones's research centers around the regulatory pathways that control the body's immune responses. The research has the potential to provide new insights about diseases such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis. She currently has three undergraduates working in her lab including a senior who just completed his honors thesis under her guidance. Although she admits that the undergraduates require more attention and mentoring than graduate students, Jones is quick to point out the importance of including undergraduates in the lab. "If you want the students to learn to do research," she says, "you should encourage them to do real research and not just cookbook experiments in lab courses. This is the best way for our undergraduates to get the experience and to learn the basic skills they need." Besides which, Jones enjoys working with undergraduates. "I've had a class president in my lab, I've had varsity athletes in my lab. I've had people who are totally dedicated to research and who go on to top graduate programs. Some are now on the faculty at other universities."

In addition to working with undergraduate in her lab, Jones has three undergraduate courses. She teaches introductory immunology in the biology and human biology core sequences; Molecular and Cellular Immunology, an upper division elective course for biology and human biology majors; and a Freshman/Sophomore Seminar called Infection, Immunity, and the Public's Health. Although the goals of each class are a bit different, Jones says her teaching philosophy is the same for all three levels. "I try to challenge the students so they really use their minds. I want them to develop the ability to think on their own, to put information together, and to learn how to go out and discover new information."

While also busy running her research and doing her duties as Vice Provost for Faculty Development, Jones finds additional time to spend with undergraduates, as a long-time freshman advisor and as advisor to between 30 and 40 biology majors each year. "We have such wonderful, capable undergraduates at Stanford. They are a joy to work with." Jones is still following her own advice and doing what she loves.

 

Advisory Board Members