Professor Honored With Service Learning Award for Innovative Teaching
Meena Vijayaraghavan, a senior professor of practice in cell and molecular biology in the Tulane University School of Science and Engineering, has found a powerful way to combine genetics with service learning — by collaborating with New Orleans memory care units.
That approach recently earned Vijayaraghavan, known by her students as Dr. V, the 2026 Barbara E. Moely Service Learning Teaching Award, bestowed annually by the Tulane Center for Public Service.
The award recognizes faculty who demonstrate leadership in service learning by designing meaningful community-based experiences, connecting academic content to service and advancing civic engagement through teaching, research and community collaborations.
Through her work with memory care facilities, Vijayaraghavan introduces students to the realities of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, giving them the opportunity to observe real-world examples of memory loss and connecting them to genetic concepts such as disease progression, variation and the biology of neurodegeneration.
