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 interdisciplinary graduate research programs, including Genetics & Genomics, Neuroscience, Molecular and Environmental Plant Sciences, and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology.
Evolution
Blackmon Profile | Blackmon Lab page
Evolutionary genetics and genomics using both theoretical and empirical approaches. Empirical methods used include bioinformatics, phylogenetics, quantitative genetics.
Ecology and conservation of birds; anthropogenic impacts on species distribution and habitat; use of novel techniques for wildlife detection; invasive species management.
Molecular basis of phenotypic variation and adaptation, Role of repetitive genome in evolution of sexual dimorphism and sexual conflict
Criscione Profile | Criscione Lab Website
Ecology, evolution, and genetics of parasites
Sex determination in Drosophila; temporal and transcriptional controls in development; RNA silencing mechanisms
Fitzpatrick Profile | Fitzpatrick Lab Webpage
Trait evolution in animals, mathematical modeling of evolution, behavioral ecology, social and sexual selection, non-invasive field techniques
Garcia Profile | Garcia Lab Website
Genetics of behavior and development in C. elegans
Identifying how neuron connectivity, physiology, and function vary to generate the sex and species-specific courtship song behaviors in Drosophila melanogaster.
Moran Profile | Moran Lab Website
Local adaptation and speciation in fishes. Genetic basis of convergently evolved traits. Behavior, genomics, neurogenomics.
Investigating how viruses work and where they come from to better understand diseases before they happen
Ramsey Profile | Ramsey Lab Website
Bacteriophage discovery and annotation, bacterial cell lysis mechanisms, phage-host interactions, viral genomics
Neurobiology of animal communication: sensory-motor integration
Strader Profile | Strader Lab Website
Evolutionary drivers of resiliency, molecular ecology, marine invertebrates
Adaptive coloration of marine invertebrates; distribution, behavior, and classification of eastern Pacific Decapoda Crustacea
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