KATHERINE PARISKY, PhD
MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHER

Dr. Katherine Parisky joined the Birches team as the Science Specialist in 2012. She joined the faculty full time in 2015. Previous to this appointment, she was a Senior Research Specialist at Brandeis University for nine years. Katherine received her B.A. in Biology and Psychology from Drew University and her Ph.D. in Biomedical Science from the University of Connecticut Health Center. Author and editor of many scientific journal publications, she has published in Neuron, Journal of Experimental Biology, Nature Neuroscience, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience. Katherine's article about her career transition from scientist to teacher, "Leaving the Tower to Read Rapunzel" was published in 2016 by the National Association of Independent Schools in Independent School. In 2017, she published a children's picture book about fruit fly behavior entitled Mel Smells! Katherine is focused on seamlessly integrating science into the classroom, using art and inquiry-based methods that enable young children to tap into the natural scientists that lie within. Katherine's son graduated in 2023 and her daughter is a 6th grader at Birches.