You can tell by her accent that she's not from around here.
Christine Houser, MPhil, MD, and the new Chair of the Division of Natural Sciences and professor of biology and psychology, comes to the Northeast Texas Community College campus from Europe. She most recently worked as a researcher for the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh, Scotland and as a professor of psychology at Webster University Leiden campus, The Netherlands. Originally from the Appalachian area of Pennsylvania, her parents live in Lufkin, so the move to East Texas was like coming home. Her husband is a Dutch attorney who will continue his job remotely. They moved to Nacogdoches with four of their children, four-year-old twin boys, a 12-year-old daughter, and a 22-year-old son. She commutes to Mount Pleasant, staying in town a few nights a week.
"We were happily living in Scotland, but some family events in the U.S. got us thinking that one of my main loves in life is teaching," Dr. Houser said. "Working at a community college sounded like an interesting path to follow."
Dr. Houser chose to pursue a position at a community college to be close to her parents, who worked at Angelina College in Lufkin, and to get back to her first love.
"Working within a community college environment is different than most four-year universities because the focus is almost exclusively on teaching," she said. "It's a different sort of work than teaching in a hospital setting or higher professional institution where you are competing for more and more grants or doing clinical work. Teaching is one component, but it may be difficult to make teaching your focus."
Dr. Houser earned a Master of Philosophy degree in Cognitive Neuropsychology from George Washington University and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She did her residency in emergency medicine in New York and is an expert in wilderness medicine. She continues to work with the Royal Infirmary as part of the Resuscitation Research Group in the Department of Emergency Medicine.
"I am currently leading a grant research project there. I coordinate it and will be working on the analysis of the data that we collect, looking at people in cardiac arrest outside of the hospital setting," Dr. Houser said. "We want to be able to train the public so the outcomes for the patient might be better."
Houser plans to collaborate with the other divisions and departments to increase NTCC's role in conducting research.
"We are hoping to be able to develop some more extensive research opportunities for students here locally," she said. "One special emphasis is to develop pathways for students interested in science fields or medicine in the future. We also are interested in developing some funded research projects that would be able to run independently through our department as well."
Her main priority, however, is teaching and connecting with her students on a personal level.
"Teaching at a community college, and particularly NTCC, was a compelling option for me because I enjoy the opportunity to make a difference in people's lives," she said.
Dr. Houser has already been able to advise some students who want to go to medical school and are also interested in research.
"It is great to be able to give them that bit of inspiration and confidence at this level in their education," she said. "That is inspiring to me as well. Growing up in a small, rural area, I do know what it is like to be in their shoes and not know how to make the decision, or what options are out there."
While she brings impressive credentials to the NTCC family, Dr. Houser says she is impressed with what the college has to offer.
"They think outside the box here, especially with the emphasis on the honors program. A lot of community colleges don't have that or haven't developed to the same level," she said. "We want to get the word out about the depth of experience we have available for students interested in medical-related professional schools or the biological and chemical sciences. We have an unusual community college group here in that most of our faculty members and some of our adjunct professors are either medical doctors or doctors of veterinary medicine or have PhDs in their areas."
She sees the college as an "innovative, creative, positive and sometimes quirky environment."
"For me, that's a good match," she said. "I like a place where there is room to grow and think about alternative ways of doing things. I like that about NTCC."
