Kara Cerveny
Ronald A. Laing Professor of Biology
Biology Department
Division of Mathematical and Natural Sciences
Kara earned a BS in Biology from Duke University, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and conducted research as a post-doctoral fellow at the University College London, before joining the Reed Biology faculty in the fall of 2012. She teaches Developmental Biology with lab (BIO 351L), Developmental Neurobiology (BIO 431, an advanced conference-style course that focuses on historical and current topics in the visual system), and Introduction to Biology (Cells and Development Module, BIO 102). She also mentors year-long thesis projects (BIO 471) and semester-long independent studies (BIO 481). The research in Kara's lab focuses on how cells transition from proliferation to differentiation in the developing zebrafish visual system and is supported by the NIH National Eye Institute and the MJ Murdock Trust. Kara has a passion for sharing the beauty of biology and is always happy to share movies and images of developing zebrafish with any who would like to tour her lab.