Curricula Vitae in AK Biology & Geology

Name	Personal Focus	Summary
Dr. April Felicia DeLaurier, PhD Associate Professor	Biochemistry	Dr. DeLaurier is a developmental biologist who studies skeletal formation in zebrafish. Her research uses genetic manipulation and live cell imaging to understand the genes and cellular mechanisms that pattern the craniofacial skeleton
Dr. Allen J. Dennis, III Professor	Geology	Teaching interests are Physical Geology, Historical Geology, Structural Geology, and Southern Appalachian Geology. Research interests include research on mountain building processes.
Dr. Andrew R Dyer Professor	Plant ecology, invasive species, adaptive phenotypic plasticity	My research focus is on invasive species, especially annual grasses and sedges. Of greatest interest currently is trait plasticity and how traits are modified by the growing conditions of the maternal plant.
Dr. Kelly Ann Gibson Associate Professor	Paleoceaongraphy, Biogeochemistry	My research interests include using the geochemistry of marine sediments and microfossils to generate records of paleoceanographic change in the tropics over large, recent, and/or abrupt climate transitions. I'm also interested in biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and minor and trace elements in the ocean, and work with enthusiastic and bright undergraduate students at USCA and USC.
Charles Nathan Hancock Associate Professor	Biochemistry, Plant Sciences	The Hancock Lab at the University of South Carolina Aiken focuses on understanding the transposition behavior of the mPing transposable element and harnessing this element for plant gene discovery.
Dr. Sarah Michele Harmon Professor	Aquatic toxicology, Environmental fate and transport of metals, Wetland biogeochemistry	Research in this lab is centered around the use of indicator organisms to model the environmental risks posed by pollutants of interest. We maintain cultures of Daphnia magna, Ceriodaphnia dubia, and Selenastrum capricornutum for research involving aquatic ecosystems. For projects in terrestrial systems, we use earthworms (Eisenia fetida) and Caenorhabditis elegans.
Dr. William Jackson Department Chair/Professor	Gene therapy, Anti-HIV research, Retroviral vector development	I am interested in various aspects of gene therapy as a way to treat infectious diseases and those diseases that have a genetic origin. These interests have led me to the use of catalytic RNA (ribozymes) as a means of reducing HIV replication in infected cells; the use of retroviruses as delivery vehicles for therapeutic genes into host cells; and retroviral pseudotyping to target specific cells for the delivery of therapeutic genes.
Suchreet Mander Instructor	Anatomy / Physiology	Suchreet Mander, PhD is an Instructor in the Department of Biology and Geology, University of SC Aiken.
Mary K. Mills Assistant Professor		Mary Mills Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology and Geology, University of SC Aiken.
Kristina Ramstad Associate Professor	Molecular Ecology, Organismal Biology and Ecology	Dr. Kristina Ramstad is an Assistant Professor for the Department of Biology and Geology at the University of South Carolina Aiken.
Brad Reinhart Instructor	trophic transfer of contaminants through aquatic systems	Brad Reinhart, MS is an Instructor and Lab Manager in the Department of Biology and Geology, University of SC Aiken.
Dr. Virginia Shervette Associate Professor	marine ecology, fisheries, aquatic biology	My research program focuses on management issues of fisheries resources, marine and wetland ecosystem restoration and health, and how human alterations and impacts of fish populations and habitats affect various aspects of environmental health. My research includes sites in North, Central, and South America.
Dr. Jessica Sullivan Associate Professor	Field-based experiments, Data analysis, Scientific writing	My research focuses on investigating the vegetation-topographic controls on water circulation and material cycling in intertidal landscapes through field observation, remote sensing and numerical modeling. I am particularly interested in understanding how physical and biological processes interact to shape salt marshes and coastal rivers.
Dr. Michelle Lynne Vieyra Associate Professor	Introductory Biology, Anatomy, Animal Behavior	Research interests are Olfaction, Olfactory Receptor Genes, Animal Behavior, Sensory Systems, Herpetology, Brain Anatomy/Physiology.
Dr. Derek Zelmer Professor	Parasitology, Aquatic Biology, Ecology	His research interests include Among-scale interactions of population and community processes in aquatic systems, determinants of parasite community structure in aquatic vertebrates, and transmission dynamics of parasites in lotic ecosystems