Matthew Mahavongtrakul
Program Director of Faculty Educational Development
Email: mmahavon@uci.edu
Contact me for: Faculty development, individual or group consultations, STEM, pedagogy, faculty fellowships, workshops, and programming such as:
- ALI (Active Learning Institute)
- CDE (Course Design Essentials Program)
- PACE (Peer Alliance for Classroom Excellence)
- SHIFT (Sharing High-impact Ideas for Faculty Transformation)
Pronouns: he/his
Matt is a multilingual, first-generation lifelong learner who earned his PhD at UC Irvine in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior studying epigenetics and cognitive impairment. In his role, he leads numerous workshops and faculty academies and development programs such as the Active Learning Institute. In addition, he is available for consultations and workshops. He enjoys teaching very much and facilitates the undergraduate Bio Sci 99 course here at UC Irvine.
In his spare time, he loves teaching and performing Thai music, shooting film photography, traveling, and developing healthy baking recipes and has a blog called Baking Priority. He also has 2 rambunctious boys who keep him very busy!
สวัสดีครับ! ผมชื่อ แมทธิว มหาวงศ์ตระกูล ตำแหน่งหน้าที่ทำงานของผมคือผู้
เวลาว่าง ผมชอบสอนและแสดงดนตรีไทย ถ่ายภาพด้วยฟิล์ม เดินทางท่องเที่ยว ทำอาหาร และคิดค้นสูตรอาหารเพื่อสุขภาพ ผมมีลูกชาย 2 คนที่ยังเล็กและกำลังซนมากๆ
Selected Publications
Tarchinski, N. A., Colclough, T. M., Atkinson, A., Bonem, E., Emery, N., Farrar, V., Gonin, M., Guberman, D., Louson, E., Mahavongtrakul, M., McKay, T., Molinaro, M., Motika, M., Muñoz Rojas, L. A., Pol, H., Saichaie, K., Smart, K., Stowe, M., Turman, N. T., Thomas Vest, J. M. & Sweeder, R. (2025). Centering student perspectives and equity data in a multi-institutional learning community program. To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, 44(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.3998/tia.7082
Duong, H. T., Aebersold, A., & Mahavongtrakul, M. (2023). Pedagogical wellness: A new direction in educational development. Journal on Centers for Teaching and Learning, 15, 4-29.
Vogler, E., Mahavongtrakul, M., Sarkan, K., Bohannan, R. C., Catuara-Solarz, S., & Busciglio, J. (2023). Genetic removal of synaptic Zn2+ impairs cognition, alters neurotrophic signaling and induces neuronal hyperactivity. Frontiers in Neurology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2022.882635
Mahavongtrakul, M., Hooper, A., Mann, D., & Sato, B. K. (2021). Beyond Instructional Development: an exploration of using formal pedagogy training to benefit perceived quality of life and sense of community in graduate students. To Improve the Academy, 40(2). https://doi.org/10.3998/tia.406
Mann, D., Mahavongtrakul, M., & Hooper, A. (2021). An efficient and coherent pipeline for graduate student and postdoctoral scholar educational development. To Improve the Academy, 40(2). https://doi.org/10.3998/tia.237
Vogler, E., Flynn, D., Busciglio, F., Bohannan, R. C., Tran, A. C., Mahavongtrakul, M., & Busciglio, J. (2017). Low cost electrode assembly for EEG recordings in mice. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2017.00629
Vogler, E., Mahavongtrakul, M., & Busciglio, J. (2017). Oligomers at the synapse: Synaptic dysfunction and neuro-degeneration. In Protein folding disorders of the central nervous system (pp. 33–56). World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1142/9789813222960_0002
Sanathara, N., Moreas, J., Mahavongtrakul, M., & Sinchak, K. (2014). Estradiol upregulates progesterone receptor and orphanin FQ colocalization in arcuate nucleus neurons and opioid receptor-like receptor-1 expression in proopiomelanocortin neurons that project to the medial preoptic nucleus in the female rat. Neuroendocrinology, 100(2–3), 103–118. https://doi.org/10.1159/000363324
Mahavongtrakul, M., Kanjiya, M. P., Maciel, M., Kanjiya, S., & Sinchak, K. (2013). Estradiol Dose-Dependent regulation of membrane estrogen receptor-Α, metabotropic glutamate receptor-1A, and their complexes in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus in female rats. Endocrinology, 154(9), 3251–3260. https://doi.org/10.1210/en.2013-1235