Senior Faculty Lecturer; Associate Dean (Academic)T: 514-398-7980 | alice.cherestes [at] mcgill.ca (Email) | Macdonald-Stewart Building, MS1-020 | LinkedIn |
Degrees
PhD Chemistry (City University of New York, New York)
MA Chemistry (Queens College, City University of New York, New York)
BA Chemistry (Queens College, City University of New York, New York)
Short Bio
Dr Cherestes earned her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 1998, her doctoral work was focused in synthesis, analysis and applications of ionic dendrimers. Various synthesized dendrimers were marketed as antibacterial agents. The aim of her postdoctoral fellowship at INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier was Taxol chemistry. The chemical reactivity of several positions on taxane skeletons was studied in order to provide more desirable derivatives that could possibly be used for the development of new breast cancer drugs and for increasing the efficacy of existing drugs such as selective estrogen receptor modulators. Also, the conformational and structural activity relationship of taxol and other related taxanes was analyzed, in order to better understand their microtubule binding ability and their solubility.
Dr. Cherestes has a passion for teaching. She teaches both college and university courses covering topics such as General Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry.
Awards and Recognitions
2020 - SALTISE - Best Practices & Pedagogical Innovators Award
2018 - Dean of Students Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Academic Advising
2009 - Award for Teaching Excellence, Macdonald Campus, McGill University
Active Affiliations
Member, SALTISE (Supporting Active Learning & Technological Innovation in Studies of Education)
Freshman Program - the First Year Experience
Dr. Cherestes’ main endeavors in the past few years have been the development and implementation of the Freshman Program at the Macdonald campus. The program provides U0 students an academically structured and supportive environment which leads to a smooth transition from high school to university expectations. The program aims to foster a sense of belonging, promote engagement in the curricular and co-curricular life of the university, encourage self-responsibility, and articulate to students the benefits of a higher education and the expectations and values of the University. The program also helps students develop and apply essential study skills, enhance critical thinking and communication skills, and explore interests, abilities, values, and options regarding the choice of a major and career. Every experience is intended to give the student both challenge, and support to meet those challenges.
Teaching and Advising
In her teaching and advising, Dr. Cherestes uses a fully student centered approach in which the interaction of the individual student and their learning environment is critical to the success of the student growing and progressing through their development. In her holistic approach to her students’ overall wellbeing, Dr. Cherestes recognizes that teaching and learning does not stop the instant the professor leaves the classroom.
In advising, Dr. Cherestes takes full advantage of her dual role of adviser and instructor; having advisees as students in her courses helps frame specific questions for each advisee. This personalized approach gives students the tools and confidence needed to navigate through their first university year.
In her teaching, Dr. Cherestes uses active learning, placing less emphasis on information transmission and greater emphasis on developing student skills. She believes that her students should be involved in more than passive listening, be engaged in class activities. This approach increases student motivation and ensures that students are involved in higher order thinking. With the development of the state of the art Macdonald Active Learning Laboratory (MALL), Dr. Cherestes started implementing the use of Peer Instruction in some of her classes. Evidence indicates that having students explain their own personal understanding of the material to another student and hearing the other explain, from their understanding or viewpoint, the same material, has a positive impact on conceptual understanding.
Current Projects
Educational Outreach
- AgriSTEM - Workshops are offered in partnership between our faculty, CREO—Game for Science and the Macdonald campus farm. Through this initiative, Quebec school educators can learn more about the importance of food production and how to incorporate such essential concepts in the elementary and high school science curriculums.
Teaching Innovation and Mentorship
- Pilot project in conjunction with the Canadian Light Source, University of Saskatchewan. Interested undergraduate students from our faculty have the opportunity to develop a project proposal for which they would be allotted research time at the synchrotron facility.
First Year Student Success and Student Programming
- Different high impact educational practices are implemented and studied as critical factors in student success.
Courses
Publications
An Efficient Strategy for the Synthesis of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural Derivative Based Poly (ß-thioether ester) via Thiol-Michael Addition Polymerization , RSC Advances, 2016, DOI: 10.1039/C6RA17532E
Alice Cherestes, FRACTAL: Freshman Advising Connection for Teaching and Learning, Journal of College Orientation and Transition, Vol 19, No1, 2011, pp 119-123