“I CAN STEM” NJ Inductees 2023

Dr.Adams was born and grew up in Savannah, Georgia. She attended the Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools. Upon graduation she enrolled at the University of Georgia, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences. She taught for three years in public schools in Georgia while earning a Master of Education in Secondary Biology Education from Georgia State University. She then earned a Ph.D. in Science Education from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Adams served on the Education faculty at Birmingham Southern College and West Georgia College for several years before enrolling at Georgia State University to complete a second Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics. Her doctoral research focused on RNA-RNA recombination in rubella virus.

Dr. Adams has served on the faculty at Montclair State University for 22 years and holds the rank of professor in the Department of Biology. She maintains a research laboratory in which various natural products are analyzed for their antiviral properties against Herpes simplex virus 1 and 2, Sindbis virus, and Enterovirus 69. The natural products tested include extracts of polyphenols from green tea, black tea, Embelin, curcumin, and other curcuminoid compounds. Her teaching responsibilities include Principles of Biology I, Virology, and Immunology.

Dr. Adams served as the principal investigator (PI) on a National Science Foundation grant to recruit, prepare and retain biology, chemistry, earth science and physics teachers for New Jersey’s high need schools and was PI on a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to implement a Phage Genomics course in which students conduct an authentic research project to isolate and characterize a novel bacteriophage from the soil. She has secured grant funding as PI of over $1.6 million and as co-PI for approximately $1 million.