Faculty and Staff

 

About Our Faculty and Staff

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Sterling Wright

Sterling Wright

Associate Professor of Neurophysiology
Chair of Biology Department

2112B Biology Building

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Alexey Arkov

Alexey Arkov

Professor
Genetic Cell Biology

2112I Biology Building

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Oliver Beckers

Oliver Beckers

Associate Professor
Behavioral Ecology

1112B Biology Building

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David Canning

David Canning

Associate Professor
Developmental Biology

1112D Biology Building

Matthew Carroll

Matthew Carroll

Assistant Professor
Wildlife Biology

2309D Engineering & Physics

Andrea Darracq

Andrea Darracq

Associate Professor of Wildlife Biology
Program Coordinator

102A Biology Building

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Michael Flinn

Michael Flinn

Professor of Aquatic Community Ecology
Director of Hancock Biological Station

1112I Biology Building

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Claire Fuller

Claire Fuller

Professor of Parasitology
Dean of Jones College of Science, Engineering and Technology

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Kate He

Kate He

Professor
Plant Ecology

1112F Biology Building

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John Hewlett

John Hewlett

Lecturer
Herpetology

2309 A Engineering & Physics

MS, Murray State University. I am interested in endocrinology, wildlife disease epidemiology, and ecology. Specifically how stress physiology affects disease susceptibility and behavioral ecology along with implications for conservation. I use a broad spectrum of techniques ranging from radio-telemetry to molecular and immuno-assays.

Christopher Lennon

Christopher Lennon

Assistant Professor
Microbiology

2111 Biology Building

BA, MS, University of Montana; PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison. My lab is broadly interested in the biological importance and biotechnological application of inteins. Inteins, or internal proteins, are self-catalytic, mobile genetic elements removed from host genes through protein splicing. Abundant in the microbial world, inteins have recently emerged as adaptive regulatory elements, representing a novel and potentially widespread form of posttranslational regulation. Further, the power of inteins to make and break peptide bonds has been utilized extensively in biotechnology, and my lab seeks to develop new applications of this chemistry.

Jessica (J.B.) Moon

Jessica (J.B.) Moon

Assistant Professor
Wetland Ecology

2309C Engineering & Physics

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Timothy Spier

Timothy Spier

Associate Professor, Fish Ecology
Graduate Coordinator

2309F Engineering & Physics

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Laura Sullivan Beckers

Laura Sullivan Beckers

Associate Professor
Evolutionary Biology

2112E Biology Building

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Christopher Trzepacz

Christopher Trzepacz

Assistant Professor
Cell and Molecular Biology

2112H Biology Building

BS, University of Massachusetts Amherst; PhD. University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Ohio. My research group explores the conserved pathways and mechanisms that regulate fertility in multicellular organisms, primarily through the cellular, molecular, and genetic dissection of the amazing model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Dena Weinberger

Dena Weinberger

Associate Professor
Neurobiology

1112H Biology Building

BA, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota; PhD, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I study nervous system development and function using the zebrafish as a model. I am investigating two related projects: 1. Is there neurotransmitter-receptor plasticity in the zebrafish neuromuscular junction? and 2. What is the role of Cabin1, a calcium-dependent repressor protein, in the development and function of the cerebellum, the site of motor learning and coordination.

Howard Whiteman

Howard Whiteman

Professor, Evolutionary Biology
Director of Watershed Studies Institute

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Gary ZeRuth

Gary ZeRuth

Associate Professor, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Houston Endowed Chair of Pre-Medicine

2112F Biology Building

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Dana Vinson

Administrative Assistant
Biology

2112K Biology Building

Heather Kirks

Accounting Assistant
Biology

2112C Biology Building

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Joe Caudell

Joe Caudell

Adjunct Professor
Wildlife Biology

BS, University of Georgia, MS, Utah State University, PhD, Utah State University (wildlife biology) (2001). Indiana Department of Natural Resources, State Deer Research Biologist.

Dayle Saar

Dayle Saar

Associate Professor Emeritus,
Adjunct Professor, Botany

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Michelle Weaver

Michelle Weaver

Graduate Teaching Assistant

B.S. Kentucky Wesleyan College, Murray State University; pursuing MS at Murray State under advisor Dr. Darracq. My research will focus on the Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) and assessing the health and behavioral effects of relocation. The aim of the study is to better understand the impacts relocation has on box turtles. Along with the turtle research I will also be developing a study involving the Nine Banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus).

  

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Terry Derting

Terry Derting

Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences
Biology

BA, Mount Holyoke College; MS, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; PhD, Indiana University. My research interests are twofold. As a mammalogist, I study impacts of anthropogenic stressors, such as habitat fragmentation, on the health of small mammals. As an educator, my research focuses on effective approaches to faculty professional development and improved student learning in higher education.

Leon F. Duobinis-Gray

Leon F. Duobinis-Gray

Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences
(parasite populations, dynamics of freshwater vertebrates and invertebrates, histology, pathology)

BS, MS, East Tennessee State University; PhD, Louisiana State University. —We are sad to report that our good friend Leon passed in August 2019.—

Timothy C. Johnston

Timothy C. Johnston

Professor
Biology

BA, Harding College; MS, Murray State University; PhD, Southern Illinois University.

Robert A. Martin

Robert A. Martin

Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences
(mammal evolution, paleoecology) (1993)

BA, Hofstra University; MS, Tulane University; PhD, University of Florida.

Tom J. Timmons

Tom J. Timmons

Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences
(fisheries biology) (1982)

BS, Iowa State University; MS, Tennessee Technological University; PhD, Auburn University.

David S. White

David S. White

Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences AB
(1988)

Stephen B. White

Stephen B. White

Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences
(ornithology, wildlife biology and management, animal damage control) (1981)

BS, West Virginia University; MS, Colorado State University; PhD, Ohio State University.

Edmund J. Zimmerer

Edmund J. Zimmerer

Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences
Emeritus (behavioral genetics, molecular genetics, herpetology) (1989)

BS, Moravian College; MS, PhD, Rutgers University.

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