Dr. Michael Dinkins

Job history

This will be my third year at Evans HS and 9th year overall as a high school science teacher. I have also taught at Thomson High School and Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School. I spent almost 15 years doing cutting-edge biomedical research at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) of Augusta University (2003-2017). During that time, I worked on Alzheimer's disease, breast cancer, neural stem cell, and developmental biology projects using mouse and fruit fly genetic models. Our work was funded by the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation. I have also co-authored 21 original peer-reviewed scientific research papers published in various academic biomedical journals. The most significant findings on my Alzheimer's project was published in the Journal of Neuroscience - Neutral Sphingomyelinase-2 Deficiency Ameliorates Alzheimer's Disease Pathology and Improves Cognition in the 5XFAD Mouse. Going further back, I worked for two years as a freight train conductor for the CSX railroad, and lived two years in Athens while working at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine helping to develop methods for cattle embryo production in the lab. In college, I was a choir director at Cokesbury United Methodist Church and the assistant manager of Video Warehouse in Augusta, one of those old videotape movie/game rental stores. I've done my share of super cool stuff and even worked at a Burger King in high school.

Why teaching?
I have about 17 years experience in science research labs where I trained students at all levels from high school to medical school in the lab. One of my proudest mentoring achievements was seeing Alexander Kirov, Greenbrier High School's 2017 valedictorian, win third place in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology, the nation's premier science research competition in 2016 as a high school junior from work he conducted on Alzheimer's disease while working in my lab at MCG. That experience helped fuel my desire to return to public education at the high school level. In 2017, as I began teaching at Thomson High School, I enrolled in the Georgia Teacher Academy for Preparation and Pedagogy (TAPP) at the CSRA Regional Education Service Agency (RESA) where I completed the requirements for full teaching certification in Georgia. In 2020, I became endorsed for gifted student education. I am certified in all of the follow areas: gifted, biology, chemistry, and broad-field/general science. I have previously taught general & honors chemistry, forensic science, AP chemistry, AP biology, physical science, and human anatomy & physiology at the high school level.

 
Family

I have been married to my wife Valery Perdue Dinkins for 26 years. She is currently a gifted student teacher at Martinez Elementary School, which some of my EHS students may have attended and even had her as a teacher. We have two kids - Holden [20, EHS ℅2022], who is a junior chemistry major at Augusta University, and Meredith [14], a freshman here at EHS [℅2028] ... and two cats. We enjoy watching the Atlanta Braves, movies and TV series, listening to music, trips to the beach, and finding new BBQ restaurants to try.

 
Hobbies

I have been a drummer since the age of 13 - that's 35 years now! I am active in a cover/tribute band locally along with the band director at Grovetown MS [and EHS ℅2016]. I also recently was part of a local music outfit called Silo that wrote and recorded original music [click the link if interested]. I have also played drums for local bands such as Hound of Goshen, The Hollywood Glampires, and Artemia among others. I have been fortunate to perform at venues in town such as the Miller Theater, Imperial Theater, and Jessye Norman Amphitheater for special events. Everyone needs a passion outside of their career or school. Music has always been my escape from the trials of daily life, and it has brought me some of the most amazing friends and experiences that I would never thought possible. I grow a large garden in the spring and summer especially for hot chiles but also tomatoes, herbs, corn, okra, squash, watermelon, etc. I like to make hot sauces from ghost, scorpion, and reaper peppers. Although I thought it mostly a waste of time when I was younger, these days I believe there is nothing like preparing your own meals at home. I enjoy making a variety of staples such as chili, burgers, chicken, marinara pasta, pork chops, and such... but I love learning how to create meals from other cultures. In particular, I am fascinated by India and southeast Asian cuisines. Although my "professional" cooking career is limited to working at Burger King during my high school senior year, I have participated as a guest chef a couple of times at the 'iron chef' night at the Red Oak Manor in Harlem.

Education