Catherine Santanello, Ph.D.
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Phone: 618-650-5165
Fax: 618-650-5145
E-mail: csantan@siue.edu
Biomedical Sciences
B.S. in Biology, 1979, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL
M.S. in Biology, 1983, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX
Ph.D. in Biology, 1989, St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO
Biography
Catherine has been at SIUE since 1993. Before joining the School of Pharmacy, she served as Program Director of the Excellence in Learning and Teaching Initiative in the Office of the Provost and instructor in the Department of Biological Sciences at SIUE, and as a microbiologist and histologist in industry prior to that. She is the proud mother of two terrific daughters and does lots of volunteer work in her spare time.
Research: Science and Pedagogy
My research interests have varied over the course of my career in the sciences. My Master's thesis, A Histological and Ultrastructural Study of the Nephrons of Perognathus hispidus, with Comparisons to Reithrodontomys fulvescens, was a project that entailed comparing the reabsorptive capabilities of the proximal convoluted tubules via the density of microvilli of the kidneys of two rodent species (one mesic and one xeric) of the southwestern U.S. The continued pursuit of my graduate work allowed me to study The Incidence of Pathogens of Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in Eastern Missouri. As a result of this research, I was able to identify and isolate the pathogenic Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, from two tick species in this region of the Midwest, and report the frequency of infectivity of local ticks with the Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Fever pathogens.
Currently, the foci of my research projects have been on the prevalence of a newly discovered bacterium, Rickettsia amblyommatis, in local tick vectors and well as Rickettsia felis in local cat fleas, both of which cause diseases in humans with variable pathogenicity. I am also focusing on the isolation of anti-freeze glycoproteins in local tick species which have anti-microbial properties. In addition, determining the incidence of water-borne pathogens in local water supplies, particularly the pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli, are also of interest.
Another area of interest is pedagogical research, also known as the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. More specifically, how do we construct teaching and learning activities in science classrooms that optimize student learning outcomes? My main areas of interest include, but are not limited to, case study writing and teaching, learning outcomes of study abroad experiences, the implementation of classroom assessment techniques, and teaching large classes more effectively.
Selected Publications
- Stavroulaki, K. & Santanello, C. 2021. A Detection of Water-borne Bacterial and Protozoal Pathogens in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the USA. SCIREA Journal of Biology, Vol. 6 (3).
- Barber, C., Stavroulaki, K., & Santanello, C. 2020. Examining Student Motivation to Use a Gamified System in an Immunology and Immunization Training Course. Innovations in Pharmacy, Vol. 11 (4).
- Carr, A., & Santanello, C. 2019. Pharmacists’ Knowledge, Perceptions, and Practices Regarding Herbal Medicine. Innovations in Pharmacy, Vol. 10 (3).
- Mai, T., Butler, L., & Santanello, C. 2018. Assessing pharmacists' knowledge of Halal medications to support the health beliefs of patients. Innovations in Pharmacy, Vol. 9 (2).
- Santanello, C., Barwari, R., & Troyo, A. 2018. Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiae in Ticks from Missouri. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29960871
- Taylor, D., & Santanello, C. 2017. Medication Use by Runners in Self-Care Situations. Pharmacology and Pharmacy, Vol. 8 (3).
- Grafford, K., Nieto, M., & Santanello, C. 2016. Perceptions of Medicinal Plant Use amongst the Hispanic Population in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. Innovations in Pharmacy, Vol. 7 (3).
- Weiler, M., Santanello, C., Isaacs, D., Rahman, A., O’Donnell, P., & Peters, G. 2015. Pharmacy Students’ Attitudes about Social Media Use at Five Schools of Pharmacy. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, Vol. 7 (6).
