Rate My Professor J. Cassill

J. Aaron Cassill, Ph.D., is Professor and Assistant Department Chair in the Department of Biology, Health, and the Environment at the University of Texas at San Antonio College of Sciences. He received a B.A. in Biology from Harvard University, where he initially studied physics before switching to forestry and molecular genetics. After working as a tissue culture technician for two years at the MIT Center for Cancer Research, he earned his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of California, San Diego. Cassill began a postdoctoral position at the University of California, San Francisco, but returned to UCSD after one year. He joined the UTSA faculty in 1993 and has since contributed significantly to the growth of the College of Sciences over his three-decade tenure. He serves as Associate Program Director for the MARC/RISE programs, which assist underrepresented students in pursuing careers in science, and as Director of STEM Initiatives for the College of Sciences, promoting interest in science and mathematics in San Antonio public schools. Cassill teaches Contemporary Biology, Genetics, and an Honors Colloquium titled “Science and Psychology of Everyday Life,” co-taught with his wife, Mary McNaughton-Cassill, Professor of Psychology; his courses consistently fill to capacity.

Cassill's early research focused on insect signal transduction and molecular biology, yielding publications such as “Identification of two bone morphogenetic protein type I receptors in Drosophila and evidence that Brk25D is a decapentaplegic receptor” (Cell, 1994), “Defective intracellular transport is the molecular basis of rhodopsin-dependent dominant retinal degeneration” (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1995), “Quantitative analysis of pheromone-binding protein specificity” (Insect Molecular Biology, 2013), and contributions to the papovavirus BK regulatory regions (Virology, 1987-1989). His current research examines factors influencing student success in STEM. Recognized for teaching excellence, he received the 2012 UT Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, the 2013 Piper Professor Award—making him and his wife the only married couple in Texas to win both this and the Regents’ award—and induction into the UTSA Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars. Cassill delivered the inaugural UTSA Last Lecture in 2013 and was selected by Honors College students to give 10 of 32 commencement speeches.