Life Science Specialist
Phone: 501.622.5120
Dr. Krakowiak was born in Poland, but has been in the US since she was 11 years old. Both of her parents are chemists and she "inherited" the passion for science from them.
She teaches Science of Biology, Anatomy & Physiology, and co-teaches Life Science Capstone as well as co-directs the Advanced Biology PLUS program for Arkansas teachers.
She obtained her B.S. degree from Brigham Young University in chemistry with emphasis in molecular biology. She went on to earn a Ph.D. degree in human genetics from University of Utah.
For her thesis, Dr. Krakowiak studied the genetic basis of birth defects that affect the limbs. Based on the conducted research and with help of very large affected families, the collaborative group identified specific proteins within the muscle complex as being responsible for causing severe and familial types of clubfeet.
Dr. Krakowiak continued her training at the National Institutes of Health as a post-doctoral fellow. There, she studied birth defects caused by inability to produce cholesterol. In addition to analyzing DNA of the human participants, Dr. Krakowiak also created a mouse without a specific enzyme (a "knock-out" mouse) to further study potential treatments for patients in an animal model. Because the enzyme affected had not been carefully studied in human patients, she, along with her colleagues, identified a new disorder: Lathosterolosis.
Before coming to ASMSA, Dr. Krakowiak worked as an assistant professor at UAMS and ACH for more than three years. Her primary role as a researcher was to study common birth defects such as congenital heart defects in a large, national study. She also mentored many summer students and taught portions of the Medical Genetics class to medical students. Early in her career she taught biology and genetic courses to undergraduate students.
View Dr. Krakowiak's class websites (note: must be logged into the ASMSA Google account):