College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
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Departments Biological Sciences

Faculty and Areas of Research

The following is a brief description of research programs of full-time faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences, and the institution that awarded their doctorate degree.

Faculty available to serve as undergraduate & thesis advisors:

Bengt J. Allen, Ph.D. (State University of New York, Stony Brook). Marine Community Ecology. Effects of climate change on the structure and function of rocky shore communities. Interactions between native seagrass and an invasive marine bivalve. bjallen@csulb.edu

James W. Archie, Ph.D. (State University of New York, Stony Brook). Evolutionary and Ecological Genetics; Population Biology; Biostatistics. Evolutionary and ecological genetics of lizards in the genus Sceloporus. Phylogeography of S. occidentalis and S. graciosus. Evolutionary significance of mtDNA clade boundaries. jarchie@csulb.edu

Flora Banuett, Ph.D. (University of Oregon). Fungal genetics and cell biology. Molecular mechanisms of cell morphogenesis in the fungus Ustilago maydis. Signal transduction and plant-pathogen interactions. Genetic determinants of the life cycle – the mating types. fbanuett@csulb.edu

Judy A. Brusslan, Ph.D. (University of Chicago). Plant molecular genetics. Molecular analysis of two chloroplast-localized proteases that affect photoacclimation. Molecular analysis of chloroplast to nuclear signaling during exposure to high light intensity. bruss@csulb.edu; Lab Website

Jesse Dillon, Ph.D. (University of Oregon). Microbial ecology and evolution. Molecular diversity and ecophysiology of microbial communities in extreme environments. jdillon@csulb.edu; Lab website

Elizabeth D. Eldon, Ph.D. (Indiana University, Bloomington). Developmental biology. Genetic and molecular analysis of receptor signaling in development and innate immunity. eeldon@csulb.edu

Esteban Fernandez-Juricic, Ph.D. (Universidad Complutense de Madrid). Ornithology. Behavioral ecology: Visual perception and social foraging in birds. Conservation biology: Effects of human disturbance (tourism, urban sprawl) on bird populations and communities. efernand@csulb.edu; Lab Website

Editte Gharakhanian, Ph.D. (University of California, Los Angeles). Molecular cell biology. Identify genes and gene products involved in trafficking of proteins to the lysosome of Baker’s yeast; study their conservation in humans and their connection to human diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer. eghara@csulb.edu. Research page

Eric Haas- Stapleton, Ph.D. (University of California, Berkeley). Virology, insect biology. Our goal is to understand molecular mechanisms of resistance in lepidopteran larvae to baculovirus infections so that these pathogens may be exploited for the biological control of crop pests. Baculoviruses are insect-specific pathogens that can cause fatal infections in the hosts they infect. These viruses do not infect plants, animals or humans. Because many insects susceptible to baculovirus infections are crop pests, baculoviruses are employed to limit the damage these insects cause to agricultural products. As baculoviruses are biological in nature (not chemical like “bug spray”), they are considered biological control agents. ehaas@CSULB.edu, Research page

Kevin M. Kelley, Ph.D. (University of California, Berkeley). Comparative & environmental endocrinology. Impacts of environmental stressors/factors on endocrine signaling (“environmental endocrine disruption”) in marine fishes. Comparative endocrinology of anabolic and catabolic/stress regulatory systems. kmkelley@csulb.edu; Lab Website

Balwant S. Khatra, Ph.D. (University of Leeds, England). Metabolic regulation. Hormonal regulation of cellular metabolism. bskhatra@csulb.edu

Lisa S. Klig, Ph.D. (Albert Einstein College of Medicine). Molecular genetics and bioinformatics. Analysis of inositol metabolism in humans and in pathogenic fungi of humans. Inositol is a sugar that can serve as a precursor for a membrane phospholipid (phosphatidylinositol), a second messenger in signal transduction, an osmolyte, or an energy source. Disruption of inositol metabolism has been observed in patients with bipolar disease and diabetes. Inositol metabolism may also be involved in the pathogenicity of specific fungi that infect humans. Furthering the understanding of inositol metabolism may lead to the development of effective therapeutic agents. lsklig@csulb.edu

Kay Lee-Fruman, Ph.D. (Harvard University). Cancer cell biology/immunology. Molecular mechanism of immunosuppressant and anti-cancer drugs. We study the signal transduction pathways regulating cell growth and proliferation, with an emphasis on kinase enzymes. kleefrum@csulb.edu; Lab website

Christopher G. Lowe, Ph.D. (University of Hawaii, Manoa). Physiological and behavioral ecology of teleost gamefishes and elasmobranchs. Emphasis on bioenergetics, physiological and behavioral fisheries ecology, and movement patterns of gamefishes and elasmobranches. clowe@csulb.edu; SharkLab website

Simon Malcomber, Ph.D. (Washington University, St. Louis, MO). Plant systematics and evolution. Phylogenetics, molecular evolution, and the developmental and genetic basis of morphological evolution in flowering plants, particularly grasses (Poaceae) and grass relatives. smalcomb@csulb.edu Research page

Steven L. Manley, Ph.D. (University of California, Los Angeles). Algal physiology and biochemistry. Marine algal nutrient and pollutant assimilation, trace gas production and halogen metabolism. slmanley@csulb.edu Research page

Donna L. Marykwas, Ph.D. (Cornell University). Molecular microbiology and microbial genetics. Motility in bacteria and marine archaea, emphasizing gene expression, flagellum assembly, and motor protein interactions. Nature’s nanotechnology – molecular motors Motility, pathogenesis, and genomics of enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC). dmarykwa@csulb.edu; Lab website

Andrew Z. Mason, Ph.D. (University of Wales, U.K.). Cell biology. Mechanisms of metal homeostasis, metabolism and detoxification in marine invertebrates. zedmason@csulb.edu; Lab website

Bruno Pernet, Ph.D. (University of Washington, Seattle). Marine invertebrate biology. Development, functional morphology, and evolution of marine invertebrate larvae. bpernet@csulb.edu; Lab website

Bryan Rourke, Ph.D. (University of California, Irvine). Integrative animal physiology. Vertebrate muscle physiology, effects of hibernation, exercise, and metabolism. brourke@csulb.edu; Lab website

Kevin Sinchak, Ph.D. ( Michigan State University) Reproductive behavioral neuroendocrinology; neuroscience and neurosteroids. I study the gonadal steroid regulation of neural circuits that control reproductive behavior, and the physiology and function of steroids made in the brain (neurosteroids). ksinchak@csulb.edu

Dessie L. Underwood, Ph.D. (University of California, Davis). Insect biology. Insect behavioral ecology; plant-insect interactions; the evolution of cooperation, division of labor, and sex ratio; lepidopteran cytogenetics; chromosomal non-disjunction. dlunderw@csulb.edu

Raymond R. Wilson, Ph.D. (University of California, San Diego-Scripps Institution of Oceanography). Marine ichthyology. Population genetics of marine fishes. rwilson1@csulb.edu

Kelly Young, Ph.D. (John Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD). Reproductive biologist. Seasonal changes in reproductive physiology; photoperiodic regulation of ovarian/testicular function. kyoung4@csulb.edu

Mason X. Zhang, Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin, Madison). Host-pathogen interactions. Human anti-microbial mechanisms, passive immunization, immunoglobulin genes, genetic engineering of human antibody, microbial adhesions, opportunistic microbial infections. mzhang2@csulb.edu

Faculty who are currently teaching but not accepting graduate students:

 

*Important Note: Some professors have a full contingent of undergraduate and graduate students and may not be accepting new students for a year or two. Please contact professors in your general area of interest to assess the potential availability of areasearch advisor or thesis chair in the coming year.


5/16/06