Curricula Vitae in Biological Sciences

Name	Personal Focus	Summary
Stephanie Ackerson Instructor		Stephanie Ackerson is an Instructional Faculty in the department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Alissa Richmond Armstrong Assistant Professor	Stem cell	The Armstrong laboratory's overarching goal is to understand how communication with adipocytes coordinates the response of adult stem cell populations and their differentiating daughters to changes in an organism’s nutritional input
Millisa Bates Instructor		Millie Bates is an Instructional Faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Hexin Chen Professor	Cancer stem cell research	The research goal in my laboratory is to elucidate the functions and mechanisms of action of HOX genes in mammary gland development and breast tumorigenesis.
Hui Chen Assistant Professor	understand how cellular components orchestrate the embryo development at the earliest stages of life, novel mechanisms and functions of biological size regulation in development and diseases	Hui Chen is interested in understanding how the cellular components orchestrate the embryo development at the earliest stages of life, particularly focusing on elucidating how the early embryonic genome is regulated for cell fate specification in time and space. In addition, he also studies the novel mechanisms and functions of biological size regulation in development and diseases.
Allison (Allie) Culver Instructor		Allie Culver is an Instructional Faculty and Lab Coordinator in the department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Mihaly Czako Instructor		Mihaly Czako is an Instructional Faculty in the department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences.
Tad Dallas Assistant Professor	studying ecological networks, macroecology, and infectious disease, population or community ecology	Tad Dallas is an Assistant Professor and Research Concentration - Ecology in the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences.
Ms. Mary Megan Dantzler-Gamble Senior Instructor		Megan Dantzler Gamble is an Instructional Faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Shannon William Davis Associate Professor	Developmental Biology, Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Biology	My research focuses on how organs and tissues form during mammalian embryogenesis. I use molecular and cellular biology techniques and genetics to identify the mechanisms of pituitary gland formation in mice. Disruptions in pituitary gland formation result in many conditions, including dwarfism and infertility. Another project seeks to identify the causative mutations that result in coat color changes in Peromyscus. Spotting mutations are associated with many syndromes that can include deafness.
Dr. Jeffry Dudycha Professor	Evolutionary Biology, Genomics, Ecology	Evolutionary Ecology, Genetics & Genomics. Research in our lab is rooted in evolutionary ecology, with the unifying goal of understanding adaptive & non-adaptive processes in nature by integrating information ranging from genes to communities. Additionally we are involved in research ethics education, and developing music-based approaches to teaching science.
Melissa Ellermann Assistant Professor		Melissa earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill under the mentorship of Balfour Sartor, M.D.. Her graduate studies focused on investigating how the effects of dietary iron on the gut microbiota influences disease development in murine models of inflammatory bowel diseases. She continued working in the microbiome field as a postdoctoral fellow at UNC-CH with Janelle Arthur, Ph.D.
Dr. Berten Ely Professor	Bacterial stimulation of plant growth, Bacteriophage genomes, Bacterial genome evolution	My laboratory uses DNA technology and bioinformatics to study both bacterial and bacteriophage genome evolution. We also are studying how bacteria stimulate or inhibit plant growth.
Erik Alan Eudy Instructor		Erik Eudy is an Instructional Faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences.
William E. Franklin Senior Instructor	Biological Sciences	William "Trey" Eugene Franklin, III is a Director of the W. G. Belser Arboretum & Instructional Faculty and Laboratory Coordinator in the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Zhengqing Fu Professor		My lab focuses on the plant hormone salicylic acid signaling in plant pathogen interactions. Plant hormone salicylic acid is both required and sufficient for plant defense against biotrophic pathogens. A deeper and more comprehensive understanding of this topic will help us innovate strategies to control plant disease and improve our life quality. One of the goals in our lab is to increase our understanding of salicylic acid signaling during plant defense against pathogen infection.
Rocky Giarratano Instructor		Rocky Giarratano is an Instructional Faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Thomas Hilbish Professor	Marine Speciation and the Maintenance of Hybrid Zones, Ecological Response to Climate Change - retrospective analysis and forecasting of marine ecosystem, Population Connectivity	Dr. Hilbish's research program concentrates on the evolutionary, genetic, and physiological properties of diverging populations. This research emphasizes marine invertebrates, particularly marine mussels.
Kristen Michele Hogan Instructor	Impact of the gut microbiota on tumor development using mouse models of colorectal cancer, Host and Tumor Interactions that Promote Liver Metastasis of Colorectal Cancer	Research focus is using mouse models of colorectal cancer to establish mechanisms of metastasis as well as study the role of the gut microbiome in the development and progression of colorectal cancer. Mentoring and training undergraduate and graduate students in the lab. Trained in Gnotobiotics Animal Work and Management.
Dr. Brian Dennis Hollis Assistant Professor	experimental evolution-replicated populations evolve in manipulated environments & tracked real time	My lab studies the evolutionary genetics of sexual selection and sexual conflict, primarily with the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and a combination of phenotypic and genomic approaches. A major aim is to better understand the ways sexual selection constrains and facilitates adaptation, in particular with respect to the evolution of differences between the sexes. A recurrent feature of our work is the use of experimental evolution, where replicated populations evolve in manipulated environm
Dr. Katie Lynn Kathrein Assistant Professor	Stem cell research	Katie Kathrein is an Assistant Professor for the Department Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina.
Dr. Beth Allyn Krizek Professor	Plant developmental biology	The transformation of a small number of pluripotent floral stem cells into a flower is a complex process involving coordinated cellular behaviors and broad morphological changes. We are studying the roles of a family of AINTEGUMENTA-LIKE (AIL) transcription factors in this process using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.
Elina LEVINA Senior Instructor	Cancer Biology, Bioassay, Immunocytochemistry	Elina Levina is a cell biologist with extensive international research experience. Her expertise is in cancer biology, bioassay development, mammalian cell culture including human and animal primary cells, animal models, immunocytochemistry, microscopy, molecular biology, chromatin immunoprecipitations, real time PCR, protein biochemistry.
Eric LoPresti Assistant Professor	community ecology of protective mutualisms on sticky plants, the interactions mediated by stickiness in seeds (affecting granivory by both insects and rodents), pollination ecology of the sand verbenas	The LoPresti lab studies the ecology and evolution of plant-animal interactions at scales ranging from single species interactions to whole communities of interacting species. Their research involves many systems and focuses on several interactions including herbivory (including seed predation), pollination, and protective mutualisms.
Dr. Lydia Eleanor Matesic, PhD Associate Professor	Molecular and genetic mouse models of human disease	The Role of C2-WW-HECT Ubiquitin Ligases in Disease and Development
Kristiaan Merritt Instructor		Kristiaan Merritt is an Instructional Faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences
Dr. Timothy Alexander Mousseau Professor	Impact of radioactive contaminants, Animal behavior, Adaptation to climate change	Since 1999, Professor Mousseau and his collaborators (esp. Dr. Anders Pape Moller, University of Paris-Sud) have explored the ecological and evolutionary consequences of the radioactive contaminants affecting populations of birds, insects and people inhabiting the Chernobyl region of Ukraine. Their research suggests that many species of plants and animals suffer from increased mutational loads as a result of exposure to radionuclides stemming from the Chernobyl disaster.
Mickey Parker Instructor		Mickey Ray Parker is an Instructional Faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences
Dr. Rekha Patel Professor	Regulation of stress signaling and apoptosis, Regulation of aging and lifespan, Protein-protein interactions	Our research focuses on regulation of cell survival and apoptosis by interferon-induced, double-stranded RNA activated protein kinase PKR. We study the regulation of PKR’s kinase activity by its activator protein PACT (DYT16) in response to stress signals. Our work has major implications on origin, progression, and treatment of many human diseases and disorders such as cancer, neurodegeneration, diabetes, and aging. We also work on regulation of aging and lifespan.
Dr. Maria Majorette Pena, PhD Associate Professor	Cancer, Colon Cancer metastasis and the tumor microenvironment, Regulation of thymidylate synthase intracellular levels	My research interest is focused on understanding the complex interactions between tumor cells and its microenvironment and how these can be harnessed to enhance the efficacy of current therapies or develop novel therapies to block tumor progression and metastasis.
Dr. James Linehan Pinckney Professor	Marine Ecology	My work over the past 20 years has emphasized investigations of the ecophysiology of benthic & phytoplanktonic communities & their contribution to ecosystem function. Current research is being conducted in local estuarine, riverine, & intertidal habitats, as well as in pelagic systems in the Gulf of Mexico & hypersaline lagoons in the Bahamas.
Shannon Pipes Instructor		As a graduate student at USC, Shannon's research heavily focused on the genomic distribution as well as the virulence capabilities of environmentally derived Vibrio strains of bacteria. Vibrios have a very large impact on the ecology of estuarine and salt mash environments. Shannon studied full genome sequences of various Vibrio species to better understand the core genome and also identified and analyzed pathogenicity islands in environmental Vibrio strains.
Dr. Fabienne Emmanuelle Poulain Associate Professor	Neurobiology, Developmental Biology, Genetic engineering	Dr. Poulain is originally from France and obtained her PhD from the University Paris 6-Pierre et Marie Curie, studying the roles of microtubule-regulating proteins stathmins in neuronal morphogenesis. Her work led to the development of new approaches to study the role of selective axon degeneration in development and in the context of neurodegenerative disorders.
Dr. Joseph Michael Quattro Professor	Population Genetics, Conservation Genetics, Ichthyology, Fisheries	My research reflects a broad interest in the mechanisms of genetic evolution at several fundamental levels. Ongoing work on the genetics of marine species, particularly fishes and mollusks, is designed to understand the processes that shape the underlying structure of marine populations.
Dr. David Reisman Professor	Regulation of the expression of the p53 tumor suppressor	David Reisman is Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina. His current research focuses on defining the role that mutant p53 plays in cell transformation and determining the mechanisms that lead to de-regulated expression of the p53 gene.
Dr. Tammi Lee Richardson Department Chair/Professor	Phytoplankton Physiology and Ecology, Marine Food Webs	My research focuses on physiological responses of phytoplankton to fluctuations in environmental factors like light, nutrients, and temperature and how, ultimately, variations in small-scale processes translate into larger scale effects on ecosystems. I am specifically interested in phytoplankton growth rates, including the underlying processes of photosynthesis and nutrient uptake and incorporation.
David Roberts Instructor		Dr. Roberts has been a clinician for the last 18 years. As a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine, Dr. Roberts focuses on Functional Medicine and Preventive Wellness as his clinical areas of practice.
Dr. Charles (Andy) Andrew Schumpert Senior Instructor		My project focuses on the various molecular aspects of aging in a small freshwater crustacean named Daphnia. This small organism is found throughout the world in freshwater lakes and small transitory ponds. There are two closely related ecotypes, Daphnia pulex and Daphnia pulicaria that are genetically very similar yet D.pulicaria lives twice as long as D.pulex. I am investigating the differences between these two organisms.
Dr. Deanna Sue Smith Professor	Neurobiology, Cancer	The regulation of cytoplasmic dynein by Lis1 and Nudel in development and disease.
April C South Senior Instructor	RNA viruses, Dengue virus	My research interests include various mechanisms of selection acting on single-stranded RNA viruses, especially that of the Dengue virus, in response to host immune system recognition.I am also extremely involved with pedagogical aspects of the Biology department mostly as coordinator of the Biology 102 laboratories. The 102 laboratories focus on the unity and diversity of life, the importance of structure as well as how it relates to function, and include an emphasis on critical thinking.
Professor Daniel Isaac Speiser, PhD Associate Professor	Biological Sciences	The Speiser Lab works with invertebrate animals because of their diverse phenotypes and because it allows us to target taxa specifically well-suited for particular questions. For example, we study the function and evolution of the eyes of scallops, a family of swimming bivalves. The eyes of scallops are single-chambered like the camera eyes of vertebrates and cephalopods, but use a mirror for image-formation instead of a lens.
Joshua Paul Stone Assistant Professor	Ecology, Oceanography, Fisheries	I am an aquatic ecologist broadly interested in how humans are affecting freshwater and marine ecosystems, especially through climate change. Specifically, I study how zooplankton populations have been changing, and how those changes affect food web interactions, both within the zooplankton and then up to fish and higher trophic levels. I care how humans are affecting aquatic food webs and what that means for the future of aquatic resources.
Dr. Johannes Stratmann Professor	Plant Science; Plant responses to stress with emphasis on herbivory, Signal transduction: MAP kinases; regulation of targeted proteolysis	We study molecular mechanisms of stress signal transduction in plants. Our focus is on microbe/danger-associated molecular patterns, membrane-bound receptors, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades, reactive-oxygen species (ROS), stress hormone signaling, and protein complexes in plant responses to herbivory and pathogens. Our work has potential to provide clues for generating plants with increased stress resistance.
Professor Jeffery L. Twiss Professor	Neuroscience, Neurobiology	My research program focuses on the molecular mechanisms of axonal growth and repair. We are largely centered on localized events occurring in neuronal processes and the transport mechanisms that support these.
Dr. Lauren S Vaughn Research Associate Professor	cellular stress response, Molecular signaling, Disease pathology	Dr. Vaughn has molecular biology and biochemistry research experience including the study of neurodegenerative diseases, cellular stress, molecular signaling focused on kinase activity and transcriptional control of gene expression executed using both in vitro, cell culture, and in vivo model systems. Dr. Vaughn currently works in the lab of Jeff Twiss investigating and manipulating the molecular signaling associated with peripheral nerve injury.
Alan Waldman Professor	Genetic recombination and DNA repair in mammalian cells	Our laboratory group is interested in elucidating the mechanisms of homologous recombination (the exchange of genetic information between two similar DNA sequences) in mammalian cells. A primary area that we have focused on is the issue of just how similar two chromosomal sequences must be in order to be recombined.
Kristy Welshhans Assistant Professor	the neurodevelopmental basis of Down syndrome, the molecular mechanisms regulating local translation of mRNAs during axon guidance	Kristy Welshhans is an Assistant Professor, Research Concentration - Neurobiology, Stem cells and Developmental Biology with the Biological Sciences Department in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Carolyn Wessinger Assistant Professor	causes and consequences of trait variation and evolution above and below the species level, studying floral adaptation to different pollinators	Carolyn Wessinger is interested in the causes and consequences of trait variation and evolution above and below the species level, using a genetic perspective. Her work combines a variety of approaches, including population genomics, QTL mapping, comparative studies, phylogenetics, and modeling approaches. To date, she has focused on studying floral adaptation to different pollinators.
Mingli Xu Assistant Professor	plant development	Mingli Xu's research focuses in plant development. Plants undergo two major developmental transitions after germination: from juvenile to adult vegetative and then vegetative to reproductive form. Correct timing of these transitions is essential for survival and reproduction of the plant. The miR156-SPL module is particularly important during the regulation of both developmental transitions, each of which are under the influence of internal and external cues.
Amanda Polson Zeigler Senior Instructor	transcriptional regulation of the p53 tumor suppressor gene	As the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Biological Sciences, her primary focus is to serve in an administrative role that helps to promote the educational mission of the Biological Sciences Undergraduate Program. This is accomplished by facilitating students’ progression through the major while supporting an environment that fosters advanced learning. She also serves as an Academic Advisor to Biological Sciences majors.