Chair of Biology at Kean University, Laura Mackey Lorentzen earned a PhD in Biomedicine at Baylor College of Medicine after a Master's in Molecular Evolution at Duquesne University. She is a past president of the NJ Academy of Science and a past editor-in-chief of the Association for Women in Science AWIS Magazine. She is the PI of an active National Science Foundation Robert Noyce STEM Teacher Scholarship Program Track 1 Grant.