Emily Ragan

Emily Ragan, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She developed and teaches an online section of general chemistry using open educational resources and multiple face-to-face biochemistry courses.

She has been teaching at MSU Denver since 2013. Previously, Ragan worked as an affiliate professor at Tulsa Community College, University of Tulsa, Contra Costa Community Collee and Laney Community College; was a lecturer at Dominican University of California and Kansas State University; and was a postdoctoral associate and graduate research assistant at Kansas State University. She received the E-Learning and Instructional Technology Exemplar award from MSU Denver and was a Teaching Excellence award finalist from MSU Denver Faculty Senate in 2016.

Her lab is currently investigating the mechanism of iron uptake in insects using biochemical techniques and insect cell culture. Better understanding of iron uptake in insects could set the stage for novel pest control strategies or may yield insights that transfer to a more complete understanding of human iron metabolism. Ragan is also interested in active learning strategies, including course-based undergraduate research experiences, to increase student engagement and support learning outcomes. She co-authored several research papers including “Analysis of mutually exclusive alternatively spliced serpin-1 isoforms and identification of serpin-1 proteinase complexes in Manduca sexta hemolymph” in the Journal of Biological Chemistry in 2010.

Ragan received her doctorate in biochemistry from Kansas State University in 2008 and a bachelor’s in biochemistry and molecular biology from University of California in 2002.