Biology Department

Faculty & Staff

(2018 Biology Faculty, left to right, Anna Ritz, Aaron Ramirez, Sam Fey, Suzy Renn, Erik Zornik, Sarah Schaack, Janis Shampay, Kara Cerveny, Jay Mellies, Derek Applewhite, Keith Karoly, David Dalton, Jeremy Coate).

Faculty 

Derek A. Applewhite - Website
On Leave Fall 2024
Cellular biology, cytoskeletal dynamics, cell motility, and morphogenesis.

Kara Cerveny - Website
Developmental biology, neurogenesis, signaling pathway interplay, and the visual system.

Jeremy Coate - Website
Plant genome evolution.

Pietro D'Amelio - Email
Animal Behavior

Sam Fey - Website
Species interactions, population ecology, global change ecology.

Keith Karoly - Website
Plant evolution, evolution of plant mating systems.

Jay Mellies - Website
Bacterial pathogenesis, gene regulation.

Hannah Prather - Email
Lichenology

Aaron Ramirez - Website
On sabbatical 2024-25.
Translational ecology, fire and drought, socio-ecological systems.

Suzy Renn - Website
Associate Dean of Faculty appointment, 2024-26
Integrative animal behavior.

Anna Ritz - Website
Chair
Computational biology, genome structural variation, signaling pathways.

Sarah Schaack - Website
Genetics/genomics, transposable elements, mutation.

Miguel Simões - Email
Neurobiology, animal physiology.

Erik Zornik - Website
On Leave Fall 2024
Neurobiology, neural basis of behavior.

Staff

Jeff Brown- Email
Lab Operations & Biology Stockroom Manager

Crystal Chaw - Details
Departmental Associate

Kayla Johnston - Email
Administrative Coordinator

Naoyuki Ochiai- Email
Instrumentation Biologist

Siira Rieschl- Email
Science Outreach Coordinator

Kendra Walters- Email
Departmental Associate

Research Associates & Visiting Researchers

Andrew Anderson- Website
Visiting Researcher (Renn Lab)

Oliver Anderson
Research Assistant (Ritz Lab)

Altaf Barelvi
Research Assistant (Ritz Lab)

Libby Brennan
Research Associate (Mellies Lab)

Danny Gibson
Research Assistant (Fey Lab)

Hannah Kuder
Research Assistant (Fey Lab)

Valerie Osterberg
Research Associate (Zornik Lab) 

Emeritus Faculty & Retired Colleagues

Steven D. Black - Website
Developmental biology

Carey Booth - Details
Departmental Associate

David A. Dalton - Website
Plant physiology; biological nitrogen fixation; forest ecophysiology

Robert H. Kaplan - Website
Evolutionary ecology; population biology; conservation biology

Ned Knight - Details
Departmental Associate

Maryanne C. McClellan - Website
Cellular biology; hormonal regulation of growth and differentiation

Laurens N. Ruben - Website
Immunology

Peter J. Russell - Website
Molecular genetics: RNA virus gene expression in yeast

Janis Shampay - Website
Molecular biology, telomere structure and function.

Past Colleagues, in Memoriam

You can find additional history of the Biology Department here.

Reed Biology 1972-2012
Regulatory biology; neurochemistry, cellular neurophysiology

Bert G. Brehm, 1926-2023, In memoriam
Reed Biology, 1962-93
Plant evolutionary biology

G. Frank Gwilliam, 1925-2016, In memoriam
Reed Biology 1957-1996
Neurobiology; invertebrate zoology; marine biology

Lewis H. Kleinholz, 1910-2001, In memoriam
Reed Biology 1946-1980
Invertebrate and vertebrate endocrinology

Helen A. Stafford, 1922-2011, In memoriam
Reed Biology 1957-1996
Plant biochemistry
2008 Phytochemistry Pioneer Award
Stafford Bequest
Stafford Award