Faculty

David Duvernell, PhD

Professor and Department Chair

Research Interests

Population Genetics, Molecular Evolution, Fish Genetics, Conservation Biology

Website

 

Chen Hou, PhD

Associate Professor

Research Interests

Life history tradeoffs, aging and oxidative stress. Behaviors and physiology of social insects. Energetics of animal growth and reproduction.  Mammalian respiratory physiology.

Website

 

Yue-Wern Huang, PhD

Professor, Associate Dean for Research & External Relations, CASE and Interim Director of the CBR

Research Interests
  • Toxicity of electronic cigarettes, nanomaterials, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., PCBs, dioxins) and environmental hormone modulators such as pharmaceuticals, phytochemicals, and industrial chemicals on human and environmental health
  • Evolution and behaviors of indoor bioaerosols
  • Development of carrier platforms to deliver biologically active molecules in vitro and in vivo for basic science research and biomedical applications

Website

 

Melanie Mormile, PhD

Professor and Director of the Biology Graduate Program

Research Interests

Environmental Microbiology, Extremophilic Microorganisms, Anaerobic Microbial Metabolism

Website

Dev Niyogi, PhD

Professor

Research Interests

Effects of humanity on stream ecosystems. Role of biodiversity in controlling ecosystem processes. Nutrient uptake in streams and other aquatic systems.

Website

 

Stephen Roberts, PhD

Professor, COO of the Kummer Institute and Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives

Research Interests

Comparative and integrative physiology, insect flight aerodynamics and energetics, stress tolerance, learning and memory, aging and sescence, and locomotion biomechanics.

Website

Andrea Scharf, PhD

Assistant Professor

Research Interests

The wormPOP lab focusses on two main research areas:

  1.     Impact of life-history traits on population dynamics
  2.     Pollution-induced premature aging

Website

Julie Semon, PhD

Associate Professor

Research Interests

Adult Stem Cells, Tissue Engineering, Regenerative Medicine, BioInnovation, BioDesign

Website

 

 

Katie Shannon, PhD

Teaching Professor and Pre-Health Advisor

Research Interests

Cytokinesis, cell cycle, cytoskeleton, nanoparticle uptake and transport

Website

Katherine Sharp, PhD

Assistant Professor

Research Interests

Science Education, Biology Education, Undergraduate Education, Secondary Education, Case-based Learning, Problem-based Learning, Course-based Undergraduate Research, Argumentation 

Website

 

Theodore Sumnicht, MS

Assistant Teaching Professor

Research Interests

Tropical Ant Ecology, Taxonomy and Phylogenetics

 

Matthew Thimgan, PhD

Associate Professor

Research Interests

Biochemical and genetic factors of sleep regulation. How sleep and wake transitions reflect health and aging. Mitigating the consequences of sleep deprivation. Physiological and Molecular biomarkers of sleepiness in humans.

Website

Robin Verble

Associate Professor

Research Interests

Research that focuses on the ecology of fire-adapted ecosystems and organisms.

Website

David Westenberg, PhD

Curators Distinguished Teaching Professor and Faculty Athletics Representative

Research Interests

Rhizophere microbiology, Antibacterial materials, Microbial diversity, Synthetic biology, Microbiology education.

Website

 

Emeritus Faculty

Roger Brown, PhD

Emeritus Professor

Research Interests

Biomaterials for bone repair and therapeutic applications. Development of bioactive glass coatings on titanium implants for enhanced bonding at implant site. Porous bioactive glass scaffolds for in vitro engineering of new bone tissue. Bioabsorbable composite materials for bone fracture fixation. Neutron-activatable glass microspheres for radiotherapeutic application.

Ron Frank, PhD

Emeritus Associate Professor

Terry Wilson, MS

Emeritus Associate Teaching Professor

Affiliate Faculty

Chang-Soo Kim, PhD

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests

Solid-state devices, micro/nanofabrication, sensor engineering, nanotechnology applications, biological microdevices and systems

 

Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe

Professor of Geology, Department of Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

Research Interests

Palynology and Sedimentology

 

Hu Yang, PhD

Linda and Bipin Doshi Chair and Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Research Interests

Biomaterials; Drug and Gene Delivery; Nanomedicine; Pharmaceutical Engineering