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.
Neurobiology
Dulin Profile | Dulin Lab Website
Neural stem cell transplantation and circuit mapping approaches to restore motor, sensory, and autonomic function following spinal cord injury
Sex determination in Drosophila; temporal and transcriptional controls in development; RNA silencing mechanisms
Farhy Profile | Farhy Lab Website
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
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.
Moran Profile | Moran Lab Website
Local adaptation and speciation in fishes. Genetic basis of convergently evolved traits. Behavior, genomics, neurogenomics.
McCreedy Profile | McCreedy Lab Website
Mechanisms of acute inflammation and tissue damage following spinal cord injury; three dimensional imaging of inflammation and neural circuit plasticity; neuroprotective and neural regeneration strategies
Merlin Profile | Merlin Lab Website
Molecular genetics and genomics of monarch butterfly circadian clocks and long-distance migration
Functional genetics of human disease variants using Drosophila models; Mechanisms of lipid droplet formation in the brain; Neuron-glia interactions
Molecular and physiological basis of circadian-metabolic crosstalk in mammals
Neurobiology of animal communication: sensory-motor integration
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