Professor Susan Howitt is Associate Director (Education) in the Research School of Biology at The Australian National University. She has a PhD in genetics and has worked on the structure and function of membrane proteins in several biological contexts. Appointment to a research and teaching position led to increasing interest in education and completion of a Master in Higher Education degree.

Science education is now Susan’s main research focus. She has held several grants from the Office for Learning and Teaching and enjoys developing and teaching innovative courses. Her main research interest is in how students learn about research, with a focus on epistemological development and conceptual understanding.

She has chaired and co-chaired Equity Committees at School and College level for the last four years.