Research
Research in the Department of Biology spans the entire breadth of biology: from ecology and evolution to molecular, cellular, and developmental biology. Our research is supported by a wide array of funding sources, including NIH, NSF and the Welch Foundation.
Many departmental faculty members actively participate in campus-wide interdepartmental graduate and research programs, including Genetics, Neuroscience, Molecular and Environmental Plant Sciences, and the newly formed faculty of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavioral Biology.
Cell, Molecular, & Developmental Biology
Cell and developmental biology; developmental genetics; development and differentiation in unicellular organisms; intracellular pattern formation
Bell-Pedersen Profile | Bell-Pedersen Lab Website
Molecular genetics and genomics of circadian clocks and signaling pathways in fungi
Phytoplankton ecology; phytoplankton community structure, population dynamics, and diversity
Criscione Profile | Criscione Lab Website
Ecology, evolution, and genetics of parasites
Sex determination in Drosophila; temporal and transcriptional controls in development; RNA silencing mechanisms
Astrocyte-neuron communication; Mechanisms of synapse development and function; Astrocyte function; Role of astrocytes in mood disorders
Garcia Profile | Garcia Lab Website
Genetics of behavior and development in C. elegans
Gomer Profile | Gomer Lab Website
Tissue size regulation, wound healing, and fibrosing diseases
Structure and biochemical organization of cells; membrane trafficking
Hardin Profile | Hardin Lab Website
Molecular biology of biological clocks in Drosophila; behavioral neurogenetics; transcriptional regulation.
Jones Profile | Jones Lab Website
Understanding the genes, neurons, and circuits regulating circadian rhythms in behavior and physiology
Uncovering mechanistic links between emotional states, biological timing, sleep, and development of chronic diseases using interdisciplinary approaches.
Molecular analysis of protein secretion in plants; plant genome organization and evolution
Merlin Profile | Merlin Lab Website
Molecular genetics and genomics of monarch butterfly circadian clocks and long-distance migration
Bacterial physiology, super-resolution fluorescence microscopy
Molecular mechanisms of C. difficile pathogenesis and exosporium-assembly of C. difficile spores
Nuclear pore complex assembly and nuclear envelope dynamics using yeast as a model system
Regulation of eukaryotic gene expression focused primarily on post-transcriptional control; functional analyses of fungi at the genome level
Cancer bioinformatics, Cancer Biology, Metabolomics, Nanotechnology
Molecular and physiological basis of circadian-metabolic crosstalk in mammals
Smith Profile | Smith Lab Website
Structural and functional characterization of natural products from microorganisms
Sorg Profile | Sorg Lab Website
Mechanisms of Clostridium difficilespore germination and bile acid resistance
Zarin Profile | Zarin Lab Website
Developmental and experimental neuroscience; Formation and maintenance of sensory-motor circuits in Drosophila; Behavioral neurogenetics, neural circuitry underlying locomotor behaviors and action selection; Transcriptional regulation of neuronal properties
Developmental neurobiology; molecular determinants of synapse formation; neural regeneration; biological clock control of neural signaling