Lauren Regassa

Prof. Regassa joined Georgia Southern University in 1999 and retired in 2024.

— Biography from the 2024 Fall Commencement program —

Dr. Regassa received her BA in Spanish (1985) from Marquette University and her Ph.D. degree in Bacteriology (1993) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Regassa also completed 6 years of post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1999, Dr. Regassa joined Georgia Southern University as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor and then Professor. At the time of her retirement, she provided 26 years of service to the university. Dr. Regassa taught introductory majors biology lecture and lab courses, nursing microbiology, and upper-level molecular biotechniques, bioinformatics, and undergraduate seminar courses. Her research interests included bacterial pathogenesis, biodiversity, and systematics, while her educational research focused on the impact of inquiry-based learning. She mentored 29 undergraduate research student projects, and 14 MS Biology students completed their degrees under her direction. Dr. Regassa published 23 peer reviewed papers. She gave 67 invited presentations and 97 poster and oral presentations at professional meetings. From 2009-2016, Dr. Regassa was the Director of the $2.3 million NSF-funded Molecular Biology Initiative at Georgia Southern, followed by four years as Lead Program Director in the Division of Graduate Education, Directorate for Education and Human Resources, at the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C. Upon her return to Georgia Southern in 2020, Dr. Regassa became a Senior Advisor to the Vice Provost and then transitioned to Associate Vice President in the Office of Research. Dr. Regassa received the 2006 Georgia Southern Award for Excellence in Contributions to Instruction in recognition of her teaching. She also received the 2010 University System of Georgia Regents’ Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award and was recognized as a Georgia Governor’s Teaching Fellow in 2013- 2014. In 2015, Dr. Regassa was named University Science Teacher of the Year by the Georgia Science Teacher Association. She is also known for her involvement in the American Society for Microbiology where she served as President-elect/President/Advisor for the Southeastern Branch (2008-2011) and was awarded their Margaret Green Service in Teaching Award. Dr. Regassa was active in departmental, college, and university committees including chairing the Biology department assessment committee, serving on the college award committees and medical/dental review board, and serving on the University Institutional Biosafety Committee, SoTL Leadership Team, and Faculty Senate. For these and many other contributions to the department, college and University, Dr. Laura Regassa has earned the title of Associate Vice President for Research and Professor Emerita of Biology.*