Being a Chemistry Professor at a Small Liberal Arts College: Personal Reflections and Career Tips and Tricks

Steven Damo is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Chair, Department of Life and Physical Sciences as well as Interim Assistant Dean School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Fisk University. Professor Damo is a Sloan Scholar PhD in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. After postdoctoral positions at Weill Cornell Medical College and Vanderbilt University, he accepted an assistant professorship at Fisk University, a Historically Black University (HBCU). He also holds appointments as a member of the Center for Structural Biology and as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University. His research interests are centered on understanding molecular mechanisms at the host-pathogen interface. His teaching interests focus on quantitative methods in the chemical and biological sciences. Graduate trainees in the Damo lab participate in the Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s-to-Ph.D. Bridge Program, a national model for increasing the URM STEM pipeline. Dr. Damo also serves as the Associate Director of the Minority Access to Research Careers Program, a program funded by the NIH to provide tuition and stipend support for undergraduates interested in obtaining a Ph.D. in the biomedical sciences.