Ms. Boykins has a B.S. in biology from LeMoyne College. She has a diverse background in research, spanning 25 years. She has extensive experience in electron microscopy and freeze-fracture techniques.

She also has been involved in cell culture and immunocytochemistry at the U. of Tennessee Medical Center in Memphis and the U. of Louisville. In the early 1990's she went into private industry in the environmental consulting field.

During this time, she gained knowledge in polarized light microscopy and phase contrast microscopy. Ms Boykins helps to develop research procedures and is in charge of all scanning electron microscope research projects in the IM Center.