Biology

Faculty and Student Research 

Graduate Student Research

Graduate Student Research

Undergraduate Student Research

Undergraduate Student Research

Faculty Research in Biology

Meir Barak, Ph.D. The Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, DVM - The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

• Research Interests: Bone biology, bone biomechanics, bone tissue adaptation in response to load, effects of ageing on bone tissue, finite element modeling and 3-D printing of trabecular bone structures.
• Dr. Barak's website

Eric Birgbauer, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

• Research Interests: Development of the visual system; molecular mechanisms of retinal axon guidance abstract (pdf - 32.3KB)
  
• Dr. Birgbauer's website

Janice Chism, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley

• Research Interests: Behavioral ecology of primates, conservation biology of Amazonian primates and wild primate populations throughout the world including a four-year National Science Foundation Fellowship. abstract (pdf - 45.9KB)
  

Dwight Dimaculangan, Ph.D. University of South Carolina

• Research Interests: Impact of academic strengthening programs on student retention and success (204E project). Previous research - Tissue culture models of heart disease; Citoplasmic Male Sterility in wild-type tomatoes.

Victoria Frost, Ph.D. St. Bartholomew's Hospital, University of London, England

• Research Interests: Bacterial diversity and evolution in aquatic ecosystems, Bacteriophage genomics and evolution - SEA-PHAGES.

Laura Glasscock, Ph.D. University of. North Carolina, Chapel Hill

• Research Interests: Focuses on the role of proteases and their receptors in prostate cancer progression. She is specifically interested in how these proteins regulate the ability of prostate tumor cells to invade and metastasize and how they regulate the process of angiogenesis.

Kunsiri Grubbs, Ph.D. University of Tennessee

• Research Interests: Conservation of an endangered sunflower species (Schweinitz's sunflower) that endemic to the Piedmont region. Her research work also includes the study of higher plant systematics with a focus on a genus Eupatorium, a member of the sunflower family (Asteraceae).

Kathryn Kohl, Ph.D. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

• Research Interests:Various aspects of meiotic and mitotic recombination using both transmission genetics and molecular genetics in the model system drosophila melanogaster (the fruit fly).  This basic research has implications for human health since DNA repair is crucial to maintaining genome stability and aberrant meiotic crossing over can result in gametes (sperm or eggs) with an improper chromosome complement (aneuploidy).

Paula Levin Mitchell, Ph.D. University of Texas at Austin 

• Research Interests: Agricultural entomology; feeding behavior of piercing-sucking insects; biological control; botanical antifeedants.

William Rogers, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley

• Research Interests: Behavioral ecology, especially of vertebrates; ornithology; ichthyology; behavior, ecology and conservation of Amazonian fresh-water dolphins. abstract (pdf - 40.5KB)
  

Kiyoshi Sasaki, Ph.D. Oklahoma State University

• Research Interests: Conservation Biology, Dendroecology, Behavioral Ecology, Evolutionary Ecology, and Herpetology.

Jenny Schafer, Ph.D. University of Florida 

• Research Interests: Plant Ecology and Fire Ecology.
  

Julian Smith, III, Ph.D. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 

• Research Interests: Systematics and evolution of free-living flatworms; biology of marine meiofauna. abstract (pdf - 44.5KB)
• Dr. Smith's website.

Matthew Stern, Ph.D. University of Iowa School of Medicine 

• Research Interests: Cell biology, stem cells, biomaterials, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, three-dimensional cell culture systems, and Bioprinting. abstract (pdf - 64.4KB)
  

Cynthia Tant, Ph.D. University of Georgia 

• Research Interests: Stream Ecology, Ecosystem Ecology, Aquatic Entomology, and Human impacts on aquatic ecosystems.

Kristi M. Westover, Ph.D. Washington State University 

• Research Interests: Evolution of biomedically important viruses such as Hepatitis B, HIV, and Influenza A. abstract (pdf - 27.3KB)

Elizabeth King Endowment

The R. Morrison & Miriam D. King Endowment was established by Dr. Elizabeth N. King in honor of her parents in November of 2001. This endowment offers faculty members further opportunities for research and development.

King Endowment (pdf - 132KB).