Rahmi Aini

I am a PhD candidate in Biology Education at Middle Tennessee State University. My research focuses on teaching and communicating about culturally controversial science topics, especially evolution, in ways that reduce conflict and support sciences place in American society by building respectful dialogue across scientific, religious, and cultural perspectives. I also study culturally responsive mentoring in undergraduate biology and cross-cultural attitudes toward science among students in South Korea and Indonesia. I use both quantitative approaches, including randomized controlled trials and large naturalistic studies, and qualitative methods such as multiple case studies. Across my work, I develop and test evidence-based teaching strategies and translate academic research into actionable classroom practices. To date, I have published 23 peer-reviewed articles, including eight as first author in international journals.