Loyola University Chicago

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Faculty & Staff

Pine, Polina

Title/s:  Senior Lecturer

Office #:  FH - 200B

Phone: 773.508.3134

Email: ppine@luc.edu

About

Dr. Pine teaches variety of chemistry classes ranging from General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry to various 300-level Biochemistry classes. In addition to teaching (major academic responsibility) she mentors undergraduate students and performs pedagogical research that she publishes in peer-reviewed journals. One of Dr. Pine’s research projects was recognized by Ignatian Pedagogy Research Grant.

Dr. Pine’s pedagogical interests include active learning; transition between high school and college to facilitate student’s success in STEM; STEM in health-related professions, inclusive teaching methods, teaching with technology. She advises Loyola students applying to medical, dental, and other health professional schools, in addition she services Stritch Loyola Medical School with a matriculation process.

Dr. Pine is a reviewer and a consulter of various textbooks and teaching platforms. She got her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Technion- Israel Institute of Technology where she studied highly sensitive Nano-Electro Mechanical Devises based on Carbon Nanotubes using computational methods. This research resulted in multiple publications and awards. She came to United States for her post-doctorate research at Northwestern University in 2012 to investigate mobility of viruses and nanoparticles in hydrogels and mucus. Her teaching career started at Northwestern University at School of Continuing Studies where she taught Biochemistry at School of Professional Studies.

Dr. Pine holds Teaching Certificates from Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching at Northwestern University and Ignatian Pedagogy Certificate from Loyola University Chicago.  In 2022 she was awarded a prestigious St Ignatius Teaching Award that recognizes excellence in teaching.

Selected publications:

  1. Polina Pine, Liudmila Ivanovna Paina, Suma Gondi, Infographics in teaching upper-level undergraduate Biochemistry class. Under review in a journal as of June 2022.
  2. Polina Pine, Liudmila Ivanovna Paina, Computational Methods in Chemistry and Biochemistry Education: Visualization of Proteins. Computing in Science & Engineering, 22, issue 4, 45-49. July-August 2020 DOI:10.1109/mcse.2019.2962118
  3. Polina Pine, David Velasquez (undergraduate Loyola student), Liudmila Ivanovna Paina , “The Impact of Cultural Enviroment and Extra-Curricular activities towards Students’ Education”,  International Journal of Innovative Studies in Sociology and Humanities, Vol. 4, Issue 7, July 2019

https://ijissh.org/issues/year-2019/volume-4-issue-7

  1. V.V. Nevolina, P. Pine, I.D. Belononovskaya, L.I. Paina “Strategies of professional self-development in medical education”, Discussions, 8, 82, (September 2017)
  2. Bastien Grosso, Valentino R. Cooper, Polina Pine, Adham Hashibone, Yuval Yaish, Joan Adler “Visualization of electronic density”, Comp. Phys. Commun.195, p. 1-13 (2015).