Assistant Teaching Professor Jazmin Aguilar-Romero 

Emerging pedagogy scholar Assistant Teaching Professor Jazmin Aguilar-Romero, whose work focuses on equitable instruction in chemistry, brings to UCLA a student-centered approach to closing achievement gaps and increasing belonging in the sciences. 

“Since I was an undergraduate, I have consistently sought, built, led, and maintained communities for students who have been traditionally excluded from STEM careers,” says Aguilar-Romero, who joined the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry in July of 2025. “I aim to foster an inclusive and supportive environment that enables students of any background to succeed in the sciences.”

The Aguilar-Romero group prioritizes increasing students’ sense of belonging to improve student performance and success in organic chemistry courses. Projects in the group include forming effective learning communities in large-enrollment classes, integrating a course-based undergraduate research experience into lab sections, and evaluating formation of science identity in different institutional contexts.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in chemistry and chemical biology from Cornell University, Aguilar-Romero then obtained her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). It was at UIUC where she further honed her expertise in evidence-based pedagogy and inclusive teaching practices. 

At UIUC, Aguilar-Romero served in leadership roles within the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), forming a strong, supportive community of STEM undergraduates and graduate students. She organized the inaugural “Latinas in STEM” panel at UIUC during the COVID-19 pandemic and has mentored more than a dozen female chemistry Ph.D. students and numerous undergraduates from historically excluded backgrounds through programs such as the Women Chemists Committee, Sloan Scholars, and Científico Latino. Aguilar-Romero then served as a Center for Sustainable Polymers Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Professor Jessica Lamb at the University of Minnesota.

Learn more about Aguilar-Romero’s research and career: https://bit.ly/jazmin-aguilar-romero