For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser. FacultyBiology »Faculty View the alphabetical listing of Biology faculty below or sort, according to subprogram, institution, or research focus, using the drop downs to the right. Zaghloul Ahmed Neuronal injury and repair, electromagnetic stimulation, rehabilitative techniques and devices Alejandra D. Alonso Mechanisms of neurodegeneration in diseases like Alzheimer S. Elizabeth Alter Marine metagenomics, molecular evolution and population genetics of marine organisms including fishes and marine mammals; environmental DNA techniques for monitoring marine biodiversity; reconstructing evolutionary and demographic histories using genetic data; molecular adaptation to anthropogenic disturbances in marine environments. Asohan Amarasingham Neural circuits and their models, neural coding, statistics of neurophysiological signals Barbara Ambrose Plant Evolutionary Developmental Genomics Jose Anadon GLOBAL, CLIMATE CHANGE; ECOLOGICAL MODELING, HABITAT LOSS, SPECIES DISTRIBUTION MIDELS; POPULATION DYNAMICS, SPATIAL ECOLOGY, BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS Robert P. Anderson Developing GIS-based methods of modeling species geographic ranges using occurrence records and environmental data. Jesus A. Angulo Neurobiology Cesar Arenas-Mena Multipotency and developmental gene regulatory networks Ivica Arsov The role of mitochondrial phospholipids in t-cells apoptosis and development Mitchell B. Baker Behavior, ecology and evolution Michael Balick Economic botany and medicinal plants Maryam Bamshad Study of neural mechanisms underlying monogamous mating systems Probal Banerjee Neurobiology and neurochemistry Jill Bargonetti Molecular biology of tumor suppressor P53 George F. Barrowclough Ornithology, systematics, population genetic Jennifer A. Basil sensory ecology of marine vertebrates Laura L. Beaton Plant Evolutionary Ecology Amy C. Berkov Tropical plant - insect interactions and urban botany Nicolas Biais Role of physical forces in microbiology Marom Bikson Neural engineering, electric field-neuronal interactions, epilepsy, medical devices Jeffrey A. Bird Ecosystem ecology, soil C and N cycling, soil microbial ecology, plant-microbial interactions, and mechanisms of soil C and N stabilization Christopher Blair Molecular Systematics, Phylogeography, Landscape Genetics, Biogeography, Herpetology Richard Bodnar Neuropharmacology of analgesia and ingestion Brian M. Boom Systematics and economic botany of neotropical plants Louis Bradbury Diana P. Bratu Fluorescence microscopy, nanoprobes, dynamic processes of nucleic acids, post-transcriptional control of gene expression with implications in disease Christopher Braun Function and evolution of auditory and hydrodynamic senses in fishes Derrick T. Brazill Extracellular factors regulating cell behavior Patricia A. Broderick In vivo microvoltammetry; neurotransmitters and behavior; human epilepsy; cocaine addiction; schizophrenia; depression and anxiety Joshua Brumberg Electrophysiology, imaging and anathomy of cortical circuits in the rodent somatosensoty cortex, in vivo and in vitro. William R. Buck Systematics and floristics of mosses Frank T. Burbrink Molecular and morphological phylogenetics Avrom J. Caplan CUNY Associate University Dean for Research Ana Carolina O. Q. Carnaval Evolutionary biogeography, biodiversity studies, herpetology, amphibian chytridiomycosis James M. Carpenter Phylogenetic relationships, taxonomy and behavior of hymenoptera Patrizia Casaccia Epigenetic regulation of oligodendroglia in development and disease/ Environmental control of brain health and disease, Gut-brain communication/ Multiple Sclerosis/ Glial Tumors John A. Chamberlain Cephalopod paleobiology and evolution; fossil chondrichthyans; functional morphology Abha Chauhan Oxidative stress in autism, amyloid beta-protein fibrillization in Alzheimer Hai-Ping Cheng Bacterial molecular mechanism for sensing host and environmental stimuli Gregory P. Cheplick Population and ecology of grasses and fungal symbionts Joel Cracraft Ornithology; systematics; biodiversity Douglas C. Daly Systematics, economic botany, and biodiversity in the Amazon Lesley Davenport Membrane biochemistry; protein folding John J. Dennehy Bacteriophage evolutionary ecology Rob Desalle Systematic analysis; evolution of drosophilids Krista Dobi Genetics, Development, Muscle Jeremy Draghi Robert O. Duncan Physiological mechanisms of visually guided behavior in healthy individuals Laurel Ann Eckhardt Molecular genetics of lymphocyte differentiation Jay Alan Edelman Guidance of eye movements by vision, memory and cognition Helene C. Eisenman Cell biology of melanotic fungi Abdeslem El-Idrissi Synaptic plasticity and mechanisms of epileptogenecity Mark M. Emerson Cone photoreceptor development; Cis-regulatory elements in neuronal development and transcriptional specificity. Lesley Emtage Jimmie E. Fata Molecular mechanisms underlying mammary gland biology and breast cancer Paul G. Feinstein Molecular cellular development Maria Figueiredo-Pereira Neurodegeneration: focus on the field of protein degradation John Flynn Vertebrate paleontology, mammalian evolution, systematics Charlene Forest Membrane adhesion and fusion during mating of unicellular algae Paul M. Forlano Behavioral neuroendocrinology, cellular and molecular neuroethology of vocal-acoustic communication in fishes, comparative vertebrate neuroanatomy David Foster Oncogenes and signal transduction Robert Freedland Evaluating the relationship between walking gait profiles in young children and earlier behavioral and neurophysiological assessments. Allyson Friedman Dissecting the neural circuits that mediate social behaviors in healthy and diseased states. Eitan Friedman Signal transduction, G.protein coupled receptors, neuronal plasticity Jean Gaffney Kevin Gardner Ray H. Gavin Cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, basal body component M. Felice Ghilardi Stefano Ghirlanda Evolution and neural mechanisms of behavior - especially learning, stimulus processing, and organization of behavior in time Christopher C. Gilbert Mitchell Goldfarb Sodium channel structure/function/modulation, synaptic transmission, epilepsy, cardiac arrhythmia, somatosensation, spatial memory Cheng-Xin Gong The molecular mechanism of neurofibrillary degeneration in Alzheimer's Jeffrey H. Goodman Development of deep brain electrical stimulation as a therapy for epilepsy J. Stephen Gosnell causes and consequences of ecological diversity; nature resrouce management Dixie J. Goss Translational control of protein synthesis in plants Paul Gottlieb Assembly mechanisms of double stranded RNA containing viruses Shubha Govind Signal transduction in drosophila pattern formation and immunity Sanna M. Goyert Understanding the host’s innate immune response to bacterial infection and the genes/proteins that regulate specific responses Frank W. Grasso Conducting research into the neural, ecological & behavioral foundations. Nancy Greenbaum STRUCTUAL BIOLOGY OF NONCODING RNA; DEVELOPMENT OF RNA-BASED BIOIMAGING PROBES David A. Grimaldi Entomology, systematics of diptera, insect fossils David F. Gruber Microbial ecology, marine biogeochemistry, coral reef ecology Marilyn R. Gunner Plant biophysics: electron transfer reactions in photosynthesis Roy E. Halling Systematics, biogeography and conservation of macro-fungi Mark E. Hauber Behavioral ecology of birds, brood parasitism, color vision and bioacoustics, conservation, evolution of mating systems Cheryl Hayashi Functional genomics, Molecular evolution, Biology of spiders and spider silk, Systematics Andrew J. Henderson Systematics, floristics, and ecology of new world palms Ann S. Henderson Repetitive DNA in human chromosomes Michael J. Hickerson comparative phylogeography, population genetics, computational biology Mandë Holford Chemical Marine Biology: An evolutionary roadmap to the discovery and characterization of novel neuropeptides from marine organisms. Nathalia Holtzman-Glickman Developmental genetics and organ morphogenesis in Zebrafish Shao-Ying Hua Speed of interneuronal communication Karen Hubbard Cellular senscence and immortalization Amy E. Ikui Molecular mechanism of cell division using budding yeast as a model system Khalid Iqbal Neurobiology of Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions, disease mechanisms, biomarkers and preclinical therapeutic studies; neurofibrillary *(tau) pathology and neuroregeneration with neurotrophic peptide mimetics. Anuradha Janakiraman Bacterial cell biology: molecular genetics of bacterial cell division. Edmund Jenkins The study of telomere length in people with Down syndrome with and without mild cognitive impairment and/or dementia (Alzheimer's Disease) David Jeruzalmi Structural Biology of DNA Replication and DNA repair Michelle T. Juarez Using Drosophila as a model organism to determine the molecular and cellular mechanisms that localize an epidermal response to injury and infection. Mohammed A. Junaid Changes in gene expression in neurodegeneration Kenneth G. Karol Green algal systematics and evolution, comparative organellon genomics Khosrow Kashfi Dietary regulation of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes Lawrence M. Kelly Angiosperm systematics and flouristics Edward Kennelly Phytochemistry: medicinal plants Reza Khayat Pathogen host interaction, X-ray crystallography, Cryo-electron microscopy, Biochemistry Eunsoo Kim Microbiology, Eukaryotic phylogeny and genomics, Microbial symbiosis, Microbial diversity Dwight T. Kincaid Physiological ecology Frida Kleiman Coordinated response to DNA damage by transcription, RNA processing and DNA repair factors, and their contribution to the risk of getting breast cancer Maria Knikou Human neural basis of motor control, spinal neuronal circuits, electromagnetic stimulation of the central nervous system, neuronal plasticity, recovery of neurological disorders Ronald L. Koder Synthetic biology, computational protein/enzyme design Andreas H. Kottmann Understanding the regulation of structural plasticity in the adult brain during motor learning and memory; neurogenesis; molecular etiology of progressive neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s Disease and ALS. Konstantinos Krampis Bioinformatics, Genomics, Cloud Computing, Next-Gen sequencing David C. Lahti Evolutionary and behavioral ecology, especially the evolution of complex and learned traits in birds and humans William J. L'Amoreaux Neuroendocrine control of glucose homeostasis John J. Lee Marine microbiology ecology, symbiosis, dinoflagellates James Lendemer Biodiversity and conservation of lichens and other fungi Louis F. Levinger Drosophila and human mitochondrial RNA end-processing Jonathan Levitt Neurophysiology and neuroanatomy of the central visual pathways, organization and development of mammalian cerebral cortex Christine Li Understanding how different chemicals in the nervous system affect behavior. Using genetic model systems to understand neurodegenerative diseases Ekaterina Likhtik Neural syntax of learning and emotional processing, threat and safety, cortical-subcortical communication, inhibitory systems, amygdala. Hyungsik Lim Multiphoton microscopy of live tissue, biomedical instrumentation Peter N. Lipke Role of functional amyloids in cell adhesion; cell surface architecture in yeast Amy Litt Molecular mechanisms; plant genomics Damon P. Little Plant systematics and character evolution, bioinformatics Diego Loayza Telomere function in human cells. David J. Lohman Ecology, evolution, and conservation of insects and other volant animals in Southeast Asia Pokay Ma Structure, functional relationships, development of the nervous system John G. Maisey Fossil fishes especially sharks and cretaceous fishes Prabodhika Mallikaratchy Nucleic Acid Aptamers, In vitro evolution of artificial nucleic acid ligands, Therapeutic drug delivery, Cancer, Biochemical investigations of ligand receptor interactions. Lisa L. Manne Impact of climate and competition on species' abundances. Biogeography. Spatial patterns of biodiversity. Climate change research Itzhak Mano Neuronal cell death that occurs when the brain is flooded with too much of the neurotransmitter glutamate John F. Marra Phytoplankton ecology, ocean productivity, food resources from the ocean John H. Martin Understanding development of the motor systems and motor behavior; repair of the damaged motor systems Dan McCloskey Understanding spontaneous patterns of activity in the brain under normal conditions and in neurological and psychological disorders Kyle C. McDonald Alicia Melendez Molecular and genetics study of autophagy in C. Elegans. Carmen Violeta Melendez-Vasquez Glial cell biology, myelination, cytoskeleton Jin Meng Morphology evolution and systematics of mammals Fabian Michelangeli Plant systematics (particularly melastomataceae) and insect-plant co-evolution Robbin Moran Systematics, ecology, and geography of the new world tropics Shiraz Mujtaba Define Epigenetic Mechanisms Directing the Progression of Castrate-resistant Prostate Cancer to Identify Molecular Targets for New Developing Therapeutic Modalities Theodore R. Muth Host pathogen interaction bacterium Monn Monn Myat Collective cell migration in organ development and angiogenesis Robert F.C. Naczi Floristics of eastern North America, systematics and ecology of Cyperaceae, systematics and ecology of Sarraceniaceae Eugenia Naro-Maciel Conservation genetics and molecular evolution with a focus on turtles and marine organisms, conservation biology, protected areas, and turtle ecology. Michael Novacek Systematics, paleontology Olorunseun Ogunwobi Mechanisms of metastasis; tumor cell biology and epigenetics; organ cancers Benjamin D. Ortiz Chromatin, gene regulation and immune system development Hysell Oviedo Function and dysfunction of auditory circuits Lucas Parra Probabilistic modeling of neuronal signals with particular focus on real-time neuro imaging Pablo Peixoto mitochondrial biogenesis and functional interactions in normal and diseased cells. More specifically, my laboratory applies biochemistry, electrophysiology, and live cell imaging approaches to study exchange of mitochondria signals and mitochondrial dynamics in yeast and mammalian cells Susan L. Perkins Systematics, biogeography, and evolutionary studies of parasites and symbionts including malaria parasites, edosymbiotic bacteria of bloodfeeding leeches and St. Louis encephalitis viruses. Charles Peters Tropical plant ecology and the management of tropical forests Mark Pezzano Immunology T-cell development Greg R. Philips Synaptic development, intracellular trafficking, cell adhesion. Gregory M. Plunkett Vascular plant systematics using molecular and structural data, with an emphasis on the dicot order Apiales (e.g. Araliaceae and Apiaceae); biogeography of plants from the Pacific and Indian ocean basin Juergen E.W. Polle Physiology and biotechnology of microalgae Lorenzo Prendini Empirical study of phylogeny, macroevolution, speciation, biogeography, and comparative evolutionary biology, using scorpions and minor arachnid orders as model organisms. Carolyn Pytte Function and regulation of new neurons born in the post-embryonic brain, particularly in adulthood Weigang Qiu Microbes, genomics, population genetics, evolution, and bioinformatics Luis E. N. Quadri Genetics and biochemistry of cell-wall component and secondary metabolite biosynthesis in clinically-relevant mycobacteria Vanya Quinones-Jenab Drug abuse, hormonal effects on behaviors and intracellular mechanisms, gender differences in drug abuse and pain responses. Joseph Rachlin Fisheries science, resource partitioning, aquatic toxicology Jayne Raper Host pathogen interactions: parasites and bacteria Shirley Raps Cyanobacterial plasmid toxins and phycobilisomes toxins Stephen M. Redenti Stem cell physiology, development and tissue engineering Joan Reid Tony Ro Cognitive Neuroscience of Attention and Perception Patricia Boyle Rockwell Signal transduction pathways Robert F. Rockwell Population ecology, population genetics, conservation biology Adrian Rodriguez-Contreras Role of neural activity and early sensory experience in the development of auditory circuits involved in sound localization in rodents Susan A. Rotenberg Biochemistry and cell biology of the motility signaling pathway in human cancer cells Jessica M. Rothman Nutritional Ecology; Primate Ecology and Behavior David S. Rumschitzki Shireen Saleque Genetic and epigenetic processes regulating hematopoietic stem and progenitor programs and function Renuka P. Sankaran Whole plant mineral nutrition and homeostasis, interaction of metal contaminants such as CD with mineral nutrients in terms of ion transport, and transfer of these minerals through the food chain. Moira Sauane Study the molecular biology of anti-cancer genes that with the goal of improving outcomes of therapeutic strategies for cancer and discovering new therapeutic strategies that can complement with existing ones Cathy Savage-Dunn Development and molecular genetics of caenorhabditis elegans Anjana D. Saxena Nucleolar stress factors, cell cycle regulators, tumor suppressor pathways, ribosome biogenesis, RNA metabolism Scott Allen Schaefer Systematics, evolutionary morphology of freshwater fish Thomas Schmidt-Glenewinkel Biochemistry and molecular biology of neurotransmitter receptors Mara Schvarzstein Molecular, Cellular and genetics study of chromosome and centrosome inheritance during meiosis and the early embryonic divisions in C. elegans. David Schwab Peter Serrano Animal behavior, Comparative Psychology, Pharmacology Orie Shafer Chang-Hui Shen Mechanism of transcriptional activation Regulation of pH and copper homeostasis Control of phospholipid biosynthesis Mark E. Siddall Parisitology: phylogeny of leeches Nancy Bingham Simmons Mammalian systematics Shaneen M. Singh Bioinformatics, computational biology Ratna Sircar Developmental neuroplasticity; neurobiology of learning and memory Brian Smith Systematics, Biogeography, Phylogeography, Ornithology John Sparks SYSTEMATICS AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF FRESH WATER AND MARINE FISHES; EVOLUTION OF BIOLUMINESCENCE AND BIOFLUORESCENCE IN MARINE SYSTEMS Linda Spatz Lupus, regulation of anti-DNA antibodies Rebecca Spokony Hormonal control of development Ruth E. Stark Structure and development of protective plant polymers; molecular biophysics of lipid metabolism; molecular structure and assembly of fungal melanins; nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy Mark Steinberg Mechanisms of malignant transformation in human cells Eleanor Sterling Biodiversity and conservation Dennis Stevenson Systematics of cycads Gillian Stewart Biogeochemistry, radioecology, trace metal and elemental cycling, plankton physiology, food web ecology, carbon flux and sequestration Melanie L.J. Stiassny Ichthyology, systematics and evolution Barbara Studamire Identify and characterize host factors that interact with retroviral integrase and modulate the results of viral integration Larissa Swedell Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, Sociality, Sexual Conflict Ofer Tchernichovski The use of songbirds to study mechanisms of vocal learning William W. Thomas Systematics and Evolution of the plant families, Cyperaceae, Simaroubaceae and Picramniaceae. Biodiversity and Conservation of the Atlantic forests of Northeastern Brazil Benjamin M. Torke The systematics, evolution, and biogeography of the leguminosae Mariana P. Torrente investigating the molecular mechanisms underpinning neurodegenerative and psychiatric disease, with an emphasis in epigenetics and protein folding Ina Vandebroek Bioactivity and conservation of medicinal and food plants for human health and well-being in rural and urban environments. Richard R. Veit Ecology of birds and other vertebrates Robert S. Voss Systematic mammalogy, tropical biology Bao Q. Vuong Molecular mechanisms that regulate immunoglobulin gene diversification and genome stability John H. Wahlert Mammology, evolution of rodentia, dental histology and morphology John R. Waldman Historical ecology and conservation biology of anadromous fishes; environmental history and management of urban waterways William G. Wallace Estuarian ecology Hoau -Yan Wang Molecular mechanism, pathophsiology & neurodegenerative diseases Daniel C. Weinstein Signaling mechanisms underlying germ layer formation and suppression in the early vertebrate embryo Ward C. Wheeler Molecular systematics and evolution Osceola Whitney Behavioral Neuroscience, Molecular Neuroscience Andrzej Wieraszko Synaptic plasticity in the brain Tony Wilson Sexual Selection and Speciation in Aquatic Systems Eleanore T. Wurtzel Molecular and structural biology studies on plant biochemical pathways to provide knowledge and tools for developing sustainable solutions to worldwide vitamin A deficiency and malnutrition and meeting the challenges of global food security in the face of climate change Lei Xie Multi-scale modeling and simulation of genotype-phenotype associations and drug actions, polypharmacology and structure-based drug design Song-Yu Yang Neurosteroid metabolism, neurodegeneration, and HSD17B10 gene related disorders: Alzheimer's disease, and HSD10 deficiency (infantile neurodegeneration) Leora Yetnikoff Development and plasticity of dopamine circuitry, with an emphasis on adolescence. Why is adolescence such a uniquely vulnerable period in the lifespan? How do drugs of abuse administered during adolescence alter the development of dopamine circuitry? Jun Yoshioka Physiology and Pharmacology Zahra F. Zakeri Regulation of cell death in development aging Chester B. Zarnoch marine ecology, shellfish biology, and aquaculture Wei Zhang Motor control, Biomechanics, Bioengineering Zhi-Liang Zheng Rop small GT-phase signaling mechanisms in environmental stress response in Arabidopsis Hualin Zhong Molecular and cell biology/study the mechanisms of nuclear transport