The following list contains the names of fulltime Biology
faculty, their research interests and their research projects
that have involved undergraduates in the past or are open to
undergraduate students presently.
Matthew Clark: My scientific research
background and interest covers the areas of musculo-skeletal
dysfunctions (low back pain), forensic medical science
(parasitology/entomology), prostate and breast oncology
(epidemiology/molecular biology), sickle cell anemia
(epidemiology/molecular biology), and neuroendocrinology
(prolactin hormone regulation), respectively.
Jeffrey Coker: My research includes both
educational and biological projects. First, I develop and
assess teaching pedagogies, innovative learning tools, and a
database for longitudinal research in science education.
Second, I analyze DNA, cDNA, and protein sequences (using
bioinformatics tools) to better understand gene expression in
plants. Feel free to contact me and visit my website
(http://www.elon.edu/facstaff/jcoker/) if you are interested
in a student project.
Kathy Gallucci: I obtained my M.S. in
marine sciences from the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill and continued research there on algal-bacterial
interactions before coming to Elon University in 1984. Two
papers have been published as a result of this research in
Applied and Environmental Microbiology and Science.
Dave Gammon: My research interests are
primarily in bioacoustics (the study of the sounds of
animals) and animal behavior. Most of my research takes an
evolutionary focus and involves working with birds in the
field. I am interested in starting up several similar
projects with Elon undergraduates, so if you are interested
in chasing and recording animals, or manipulating and playing
back sounds to them, please contact me. I have a lot of
research ideas, but I am also open to suggestions from
motivated students.
Greg Haenel: My research interests are in
the fields of ecology and evolution. I am currently
investigating the factors that influence reproductive success
in a natural population of lizards. I generally use lizards
as a model system but have had students work on other
organisms as well. My current lizard study population is in
North Carolina. I am in the process of documenting the life
history of this population of fence lizards through a
mark-recapture project. There are many ecological questions
that students could address in this population including
questions about food availability and habitat use. I am also
developing DNA fingerprinting markers (microsatellites) for
these lizards. These will allow me to measure reproductive
success of lizards under totally natural conditions. This
project provides research opportunities for students with
interests in DNA fingerprinting and/or the process of natural
selection.
Nancy Harris: I would have to say that my
primary research interests lie in the areas of plant anatomy
and histopathology.
Herbert House: My research interests
involve any project that involves human physiology. Currently
I am interested in studying the dichrotic notch as it relates
to aging. Students should contact me to begin a new project
or continue the dichrotic notch project.
Antonio Izzo: My research interests fall
into the ecology of soil and root-associated microbes,
especially fungi. How do they get dispersed? What are their
population dynamics across space and time? How do these
dynamics impact plant health? How are they impacted by
natural or human-mediated disturbances? As so many of these
microbes are not easy to cultivate I commonly use DNA-based
approaches to identify and track microbes in the environment.
I am interested in establishing projects with students in any
of these areas, but am open to other ideas as well. Projects
may range from field-based to lab-based, microbe-oriented to
DNA-oriented depending upon student interests and goals. Feel
free to contact me or visit my website
(http://www.elon.edu/facstaff/aizzo/) to learn more.
Mike Kingston: My research interests are
centered on the ecology of marine and freshwater organisms.
My current research focuses on the daily movements of
microscopic algae living on the sand banks of a stream near
the university. These organisms migrate into and out of the
sand with the aid of a biological clock. Currently, I am also
mentoring an undergraduate research project examining the
seasonal changes in zooplankton morphology in Lake Macintosh.
Past student research projects (Bio 499) that I supervised
included vertical migration of pond phytoplankton and
hurricane effects on North Carolina forests.
Janet MacFall: Nearly all plants have fungi
growing on their roots which help them in nutrient and water
uptake, making them more competitive in nature. My research
focuses on these relationships from a physiological and an
ecological perspective. I named a new species of mushroom
which was symbiotic on pines, and studied their interactions.
Additional research interests include the study of soil
ecology and plant/microbe interactions. I have used magnetic
resonance imaging, a state of the art medical technology, to
study these relationships.
Yuko Miyamoto: I am interested in
establishing projects for Elon students in the areas of
immunology, cell migration and signalling. My graduate work
was focused on integrin adhesion molecules and their effects
on T-lymphocyte activation and my postdoctoral work was on
cell migration and the MAPK signaling cascade in mammalian
cells utilizing small interfering RNA (siRNA).
Linda Niedziela: The undergraduate research
I mentor includes a combination of toxicology and molecular
biology projects. Several ongoing projects include: the
refinement of a brine shrimp toxicity model to evaluate the
toxic potential of chemicals or environmental contaminants
and the investigation of the basic biochemical and molecular
mechanisms of the toxic response processes in brine shrimp.
Other toxicology models include African clawed frog embryos
and Japanese killifish. These model organisms can be used to
evaluate general toxicity and developmental toxicology as
well as evaluate the bioactivity of chemicals early in the
drug discovery process.
Brant Touchette: I conduct research on the
eco-physiology of aquatic plants. The primary goal of my
research is to understand how plants have adapted to aquatic
environments. Over the past ten years, I have used freshwater
and marine macrophytes as models of plants living in
stressful habitats.
Robert Vick: Part of my postdoctoral work
involved remyelination of the adult central nervous system,
with emphasis on the role of the oligodendrocyte. Another
part of my postdoctoral work involved examining gene changes
in response to recurrent seizures, specifically in the
hippocampus. I am currently interested in the role of glial
cells in the central nervous system in both remyelination and
seizure.
David Vandermast: I have broad interests in
all aspects of plant ecology and my research typically
involves field work in concert with work in the herbarium or
experiments conducted in a greenhouse or germination
chambers. I have investigated such topics as long-term
changes in forest structure and composition, plant
allelopathy, forest understory responses to prescribed fire,
patterns of invasive species establishment, and the community
and habitat characteristics of medicinal plants.
