Dr. Phyllis Griffard obtained her M.S. degree from Purdue University in Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy and her Ph.D. degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Louisiana State University. In addition to teaching, she previously served as Director of the Scholars Academy at the University of Houston-Downtown and Coordinator of General Biology at Xavier University of Louisiana, both universities that serve populations underrepresented in the sciences. She joins WCMC-Q as a Senior Lecturer in Biology after living in Japan and China, where she provided teacher professional development and community science education in international schools and a regional university.

Dr. Griffard's research in cognition and pedagogy as they apply to undergraduate biology majors has been presented and published in international conferences and journals. Her current research interests include gaps in conceptual frameworks and visual aspects of cognition. She is a member of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching.