The mission of the Department of Biology is to promote research programs of national and international prominence and to provide strong undergraduate and graduate educational programs that emphasize integrative approaches to biological problems. In doing so, our programs support preparation in professional development for careers related to the biological and health sciences.
Our faculty tend to conduct research in three focus areas:
Cell and Developmental Biology
Radhika Atit – Skin and bone development and disease
Nicole Crown – Molecular genetics of meiosis
Chris Cullis* – Plant genomes and crop improvement
Yolanda Fortenberry – Blood disorders, regulation, and mechanism
Stephen Haynesworth* – Mesenchymal stem cells and adipocyte cell fate
Emmitt Jolly – Gene regulation in the parasitic schistosome worm
Brian McDermott – Hair-cell development
Claudia Mizutani – Genetic Mechanisms of body axis patterning
Robert Ward – Regulation of tissue growth and morphogenesis
Peter Zimmerman – Global Health and Malaria
* Not currently accepting graduate students
italics indicate adjunct and secondary faculty
Neurobiology and Neuromechanical Systems
Hillel Chiel – Soft tissue biomechanics, neural modeling, and soft robots
Andrew Dacks – Sensory neuroscience, neuronal plasticity, comparative neurobiology
Angela Dixon – Modeling of neurological diseases
Jessica Fox – Neurobiology, sensory systems, insect behavior
Gabriella Wolff – Neuroethology; evolutionary and comparative neurobiology; olfaction; learning and memory
Kristen Lukas – Effects of designed environments on animal behavior
Peter Thomas – Mathematical biology, computational neuroscience
Mark Willis – Olfactory orientation and flight behavoir
* not currently accepting graduate students
italics indicates secondary or adjunct faculty
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Karen Abbott – Theoretical Ecology
Sarah Bagby – Environmental microbiology; microbial evolution; bioinformatics; and ecoinformatics
Michael Benard – Evolutionary and population ecology
David Burke* – Rhizosphere and plant ecology
Jean Burns – Community assembly and invasion
Darin Croft – Mammalian paleontology, ecology
Pam Dennis – Environmental influences of health; physiologic influences of behavior; One Health
Sarah Diamond – Evolutionary ecology
Noah Dunham* – Feeding ecology; energetics; locomotion
Elliot Gardner – Plant Biology
Abdel Halloway – Coevolution in Ecological Communities
Diana Koester* – Effects of environment on animal welfare; endocrinology; reproductive physiology
Ryan Martin – Evolutionary ecology
Robin Snyder – Effects of environmental variation
Scott Simpson – Human evolution, anatomy
* not currently accepting graduate students
italics indicates secondary or adjunct faculty
An integrated systems approach to addressing biological problems is also used in each of these major areas of concentration.
The primary function of each of the three focus areas is to provide a unifying framework for a group of faculty to share some common research interest and graduate training. However, faculty are neither required to exclusively conduct research in a focus area nor be identified with an area of concentration. Instead, the three focus areas aid in developing cross-collaborative initiatives that ultimately lead to the pursuit of program research and training grants. Our three focus areas have already proven to promote a vibrant scholarly environment and have strengthened the identity of the Department of Biology.
Our identity has been further strengthened by expanding the size of our faculty in each of the three focus areas. The Department of Biology is committed to providing a supportive and collaborative environment for the development of our junior faculty, especially through the promotion of active mentoring programs. Such an environment also serves to enhance research productivity and scholarship of senior faculty and ultimately ensures equitable use of departmental resources for the professional development of all faculty within the Department of Biology.
Additional Areas of Interest
Instructors in the department do not have their own research labs, but may still engage in research interests alongside their teaching. These faculty and their interests or focuses are listed below.
Rebecca Benard – Student centered pedagogies, Ecology and Evolution
Susan Burden-Gulley – Cell biology, Anatomy and Physiology
Leena Chakravarty – Molecular biology and Biotechnology
Nancy DiIulio – Scientific teaching and learning, Biochemistry, Cell biology, and Genetics
Richard Drushel – Vertebrate anatomy and physiology
Valerie Haywood – Undergraduate biology education and Plant biology
Kathleen Hershberger – Biotechnology
Barbara Kuemerle – Learning retention
Ronald Oldfield – Fish behavior & physiology and Study Abroad
Fritz Petersen – Environmental microbiology