Amanda Masino, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biology and Chair of Natural Science at Huston-Tillotson University, is a geneticist and environmental educator whose approach to education blends science with community-focused research. She is Director of HT’s STEM Research Scholars Program, which provides mentored undergraduate research experiences to HT students, and she leads a National Science Foundation funded project to infuse research training throughout HT’s Natural Science curriculum. Her research projects include a resident-focused investigation of affordable housing impacts and the environmental health of our homes, a collaborative project investigating urban wildlife as environmental sentinels, and student-led analysis of cardiovascular health disparities. She serves as Executive Director of the Austin Community Data Coalition, a non-profit she co-founded to organize collaborations for community research.

Dr. Masino is also a proud member of HT’s Environmental Justice faculty. She serves as Co-Director of the Dumpster Project, an educational initiative that is transforming a used trash dumpster into a sustainable home as a K-16 learning platform and engagement tool. She advises HT's environmental justice student group Green is the New Black, co-founded and coordinates the Building Green Justice Forum, and serves on the City of Austin's Zero Waste Advisory Commission. In the pre-health realm, Amanda serves as Director of HT's St. David's Foundation Scholars, a pre-health career enrichment and scholarship program for underrepresented students, and as Joint Admission Medical Program faculty director.

Amanda was recently honored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Lyda Hill Philanthropies as an IF/THEN Ambassador. The IF/THEN program identified a national cohort of 125 female scientists to serve as inspirational role models for girls and young women in STEM.