Michelle Kovarik grew up in northern Kentucky and obtained her B.S. in chemistry from Saint Louis University. During this time, she became involved in undergraduate research on microfluidics, which sparked a life-long interest. She did her graduate work on the design, operation, and application of nanofluidic devices at Indiana University. After a side project on bacterial chemotaxis, she became interested in cellular heterogeneity. To explore this field, she pursued postdoctoral work at the University of North Carolina, doing single-cell enzyme assays on microfluidic devices. Her research at Trinity is focused on applying these tools to new applications, including studies of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum and the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila. She is excited to share her passion for precise chemical measurements in the classroom and in interdisciplinary research at the boundaries of chemistry, biology, and engineering.

During her postdoc, Prof. Kovarik was fortunate to be part of the Seeding Postdoctoral Innovators in Research and Education (SPIRE) program, which allowed her to integrate research and teaching during two semesters at North Carolina A&T State University. She has continued to develop her interest in teaching by participating in the NSF-funded Analytical Sciences Digital Library active learning group and chairing the American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry's Education Committee. Since 2021, she has served as a faculty co-director of Trinity's Center for Teaching and Learning.

Recent Publications

Trinity student co-authors are underlined. * indicates equal contribution.

• JM Fan,* M Mehra,* K Yang, RS Chadha, S Anber, and ML Kovarik, “Cross-Species Applications of Peptide Substrate Reporters to Quantitative Measurements of Kinase Activity,” ACS Measurement Science Au, 2024, doi: 10.1021/acsmeasuresciau.4c00030.
  
  
• AM Hupp, ML Kovarik, DA McCurry, “Emerging areas in the undergraduate analytical chemistry curriculum,” Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry, 2024, 17, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-anchem-061622-041922.
  
  
• TJ Allcroft, JT Duong, PS Skardal, and ML Kovarik, “Microfluidic single cell measurements of oxidative stress as a function of cell cycle position,” Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 2023, 415, 6481-6490.
  
  
• ML Kovarik, BC Galarreta, PJ Mahon, DA McCurry, AE Gerdon, SM Collier, and ME Squires, “Survey of the undergraduate analytical chemistry curriculum," Journal of Chemical Education, 2022, 6, 2317–2326. *Selected as Editor’s Choice article
  
  
• ML Kovarik, JK Robinson, and TJ Wenzel, “A new resource to help instructors incorporate active learning into analytical chemistry courses,” Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 2022, 414, 4013-4017.
  
  
• TJ Wenzel, ML Kovarik, and JK Robinson, “Looking to the future of analytical chemistry education: A new resource to help instructors,” ACS Measurement Science Au, 2022, 2, 76-77.
  
  
• TJ Wenzel, ML Kovarik, and JK Robinson, eds. Active Learning in the Analytical Chemistry Curriculum; ACS Symposium Series; ACS Publications: eBook, 2022; vol. 1409.
  
  
• ML Kovarik, JK Robinson, and TJ Wenzel, Chapter 1: “Why use active learning?” p. 1-12.
  
  
• ML Kovarik, LS Ott, JK Robinson, and TJ Wenzel, Chapter 2: “Getting started on active learning,” p. 13-35.
  
  
•  LM Díaz-Vázquez, BM Ortiz-Andrade, ML Kovarik, and ML Morris, Chapter 11: “Active learning exercises involving building and design,” p. 181-204.
  
  
• RA Hunter and ML Kovarik, “Leveraging the analytical chemistry primary literature for authentic, integrated content knowledge and process skill development,” Journal of Chemical Education, 2022, 99, 1238-1245.
  
  
• AA Bazilio, ML Kovarik, and JF Morrison, “New software application and case study that simplify teaching complex chemical equilibria and solubility, Journal of Chemical Education, 2022, 99, 526-530.
  
  
• JR Clapis,* MJ Fan,* and ML Kovarik, “Supported bilayer membranes for reducing cell adhesion in microfluidic devices,” Analytical Methods, 2021, 13, 1535-1540.
  
  
• ML Kovarik, JR Clapis, and KA Romano-Pringle, "A review of student-built spectroscopy instrumentation projects," Journal of Chemical Education, 2020, 97, 2185-2195.
  

Recent Conference Presentations

• "The evolution of the analytical chemistry curriculum," 2025 New England Chemistry Education Research Symposium, Medford, MA.
  
  
• “The past, present, and future of the undergraduate analytical chemistry curriculum," 2025 Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (Pittcon), Boston, MA.
  
  
• "Multiplexed measurements of cell stress response using electrophoretic separations, fluorescence, and ICP-MS," 2025 Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (Pittcon), Boston, MA.
  
  
• "Mentorship and success in analytical chemistry: Stories from a primarily undergraduate institution,” 2024 American Chemical Society Spring National Meeting, New Orleans, LA.
  
  
• “ROS detection methods in eukaryotic microbes,” 2024 Neurodegeneration Mini Symposium, University of Kansas, KS.
  
  
• “Single-cell analysis of heterogeneous oxidative stress response by microfluidic chemical cytometry” 2023 International Symposium on Microscale Separations and Bioanalysis (MSB), Tallahassee, FL.
  
  
• “Extending applications of peptide substrate reporters and electrophoretic separations to enzyme activity measurements in evolutionarily diverse organisms”, 2023 Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (Pittcon), Philadelphia, PA.
  
  
• “Diversity, equity, and inclusion in the analytical chemistry classroom and laboratory:
  Results from a survey of faculty,” 2022 Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  
  
• “Combining Content and Process with Literature-Based Assessments," 2022 Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  
  
• “Student-built photometers in the instrumental analysis lab,” 2021 American Chemical Society Spring National Meeting, Virtual.
  

• Trinity College Trustee Award for Faculty Excellence, 2024.
  
  
• Centennial Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching from Iota Sigma Pi, National Honor Society for Women in Chemistry, 2023.
  
  
• “50 for the Next 50” Honoree, Women at the Summit: 50 Years of Coeducation, Trinity College, 2020.
  
  
• NSF RUI: Microelectrophoretic and Statistical Tools for Studies of Kinase- and ROS-Based Signaling in Dictyostelium discoideum, Award No. 2126177, $293,514, 2021-2026.
  
  
• Arthur H. Hughes Award for Teaching Achievement, 2019.
  
  
• Cottrell Scholar Award: Biological Noisiness of Reactive Oxygen Species in Dictyostelium discoideum, $100,000, 2017-2020.
  
  
• NSF RUI: Substrate Reporters and Microelectrophoretic Tools for Lysate and Single-Cell Studies of PKB Activity in Dictyostelium discoideum, Award No. 1615482, $212,253, 2016-2019.