LOUISA A. STARK portrait
  • Professor, Human Genetics
  • Director, Genetic Science Learning Center
  • Co-Director, Community Collaboration & Engagement Team, Clinical & Translational Science Institute, School Of Medicine-Operations
  • Adjunct Professor, Population Health Sciences
  • Clinical Professor, Urban Institute for Teacher Education
  • H.A. and Edna Benning Presidential Endowed Chair, Human Genetics
801-585-0019

Professional Service

  • University of Texas Health Science Center. Role: Member. National Advisory Committee, NIH Science Education Partnership Award Website project. 09/2011 - present
  • American Society of Human Genetics. Role: Member. Information and Education Committee. 01/2010 - present
  • Utah State Office of Education. Role: Member. Science Education Steering Committee. 01/2009 - 12/2009
  • Dolan DNA Learning Center. Role: Member. RNAi Curriculum Advisory Committee. 01/2006 - 12/2006
  • National Association of Biology Teachers. Role: Member. Board of Directors. 01/2005 - 12/2006
  • University of Washington and Northwest Association for Biomedical Research. Role: Member. Professional Development Advisory Committee, Collaborations to Advance Understanding of Science and Ethics (CAUSE). 01/2004 - 12/2006
  • NIH National Human Genome Research Institute. Role: Member. Career DVD Working Group. 01/2004 - 12/2005

Internal Service

  • Faculty Task Force on Multiple Approaches to Course Instruction, College of Education. Member, 02/22/2012 - present. College service.
  • Curriculum Committee, School of Medicine. Member, 09/2011 - present. College service.
  • Masters of Science for Secondary Science Teachers, Biology/Chemistry Cohort. Steering Committee Member, 01/2010 - present. Other service.
  • Community-Based Research Collaborative, University Neighborhood Partners. Member, 01/2007 - 12/2007. Other service.

Community Partnership

  • Coalition for a Healthier Community for Utah Women and Girls; collaborative project with the Community Faces of Utah organizations and the Utah Women's Health Coalition. 09/2011 - present
  • Community Faces of Utah, a collaborative group focused on improving health; includes the leaders of 5 organizations representing diverse communities, Utah Department of Health staff and University of Utah faculty and staff. 10/2009 - present
  • Pacific Islander Genetics and Family Health History Education; collaborative project with the National Tongan American Society to develop educational materials on inherited traits and family health history for use in adult education classes . 01/2008 - 07/2011
  • Family Genetics Education Through School and Community Partnerships; collaboration with Hispanic/Latino Community Advisory Committee to develop educational materials on genetics and family health history for students and teachers of grades 5 and high school, and for families. 01/2006 - 12/2008
  • Family Health History Task Force, Utah Department of Health. 01/2005 - 12/2008

Honors & Awards

  • H.A. and Edna Benning Presidential Endowed Chair. University of Utah School of Medicine, 07/01/2021
  • MERLOT Award for Exemplary Online Learning Resources – MERLOT Classics 2017, for the Learn.Genetics and Teach.Genetics websites. Multimedia Educational Resources for Learning and Teaching Online (MERLOT), 04/24/2017
  • Elizabeth W. Jones Award for Excellence in Education. Genetics Society of America, 01/23/2015
  • Inaugural Fellow, Academy of Health Science Educators. University of Utah Health, 07/01/2013
  • Honorary Membership Award (NABT’s highest award). National Association of Biology Teachers, 10/15/2011
  • Governor's Medal for Science and Technology. State of Utah, 01/18/2011
  • Science Prize for Online Resources in Education. AAAS/Science Magazine, 01/29/2010
  • Distinguished Alumni Award. Grand Valley State University, 2009
  • Award for Excellence in Human Genetics Education. American Society of Human Genetics, 11/15/2008
  • Friend of Science Education (lifetime achievement award). Utah Science Teachers Association, 02/08/2008
  • Outstanding Higher Education Award. Utah Science Teachers Association, 02/2005
  • 2004 Science and Technology Web Award for the Stem Cells in the Spotlight module . Scientific American, 10/04/2004
  • 2003 Science and Technology Web Award for the Genetic Science Learning Center website . Scientific American, 05/27/2003
  • Pre-Doctoral Fellowship. National Science Foundation , 09/01/1987

In the Media