Human Biology

About our authors Dr. Michael D. Johnson spent most of his youth in the fields and forests of rural Washington, observing nature. He earned his B.S. degree in zoology from Washington State University and then moved east to earn a Ph.D. in physiology from the University of Michigan. After completing a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Harvard Medical School, he joined the faculty of West Virginia University, where he remained for most of his career.

In 2001, Dr. Johnson moved to the Middle East, where he served first as the founding dean of Oman Medical College in the Sultanate of Oman and then as associate dean for premedical education at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. In both positions, he directed the premedical education of students from more than 25 countries. He returned to the United States in 2011 to focus on his writing. Dr. Johnson received several teaching awards during his career, including the West Virginia University Foundation Outstanding Teacher award and the Distinguished Teacher Award of the School of Medicine. Whether teaching undergraduates or medical students,

Dr. Johnson has always had a keen interest in instilling in students an appreciation of science. He seeks to show students how the advancement of scientific knowledge sometimes raises unforeseen ethical, political, economic, and social issues for all of us to discuss and solve. Through this book, he encourages students to become scientifically literate so that they will feel comfortable making responsible choices as consumers of science.

Suzanne Long earned a B.S. degree in zoology at North Carolina State University. She then completed certification as a medical technologist, working in a large, hospital microbiology laboratory in New York for 20 years. During her tenure as a medical technologist, she taught many students rotating through the microbiology laboratory and realized how much she enjoyed teaching. To pursue a career in teaching, she attended graduate school at the University of Rochester, New York, and while there, began teaching as an adjunct faculty member at Monroe Community College (MCC) in Rochester. She earned an M.S. degree in microbiology and immunology in 1992 and in 2000, she accepted a position as a full-time faculty member in the biology department at MCC, where she remains today, teaching microbiology courses as well as human biology.

Suzanne has received several teaching awards during her career, including the Wesley T. Hanson Award for Teaching Excellence and the Outstanding Writing Across the Curriculum Faculty Award. Her teaching has focused on incorporating active learning strategies into the classroom to communicate science. A goal in her teaching is to help students better understand how their body works so that they become educated science consumers, both in terms of what they see and hear in classes, on social media and news outlets, and when accessing health care. In Suzanne's view, development of students' critical thinking skills is especially important now, in the midst of a pandemic, because students must separate fact from fiction and understand the difference between anecdotal information and conclusions drawn from the results of scientific studies.

Suzanne has spent most of her life in a rural county in western New York State. Growing up on national wildlife refuges managed by her father, she cultivated an intense love for the outdoors, which continues today and is expressed in her favorite pastimes of hiking, cross country skiing, kayaking, canoeing, camping, and gardening. Suzanne and her husband live on a small farm, raising Lincoln Longwool sheep, a flock of chickens, and vegetables and flowers. They have four young adult daughters and one granddaughter (so far).