The success of the FAU’s Biology Masters Science Program depends on its diverse and talented faculty. They are the mentors, advisors, and research colleagues that give the program its academic reputation and desirability for prospective students. In the list below, only a FAU Biology Faculty member (listed under "Institution" College of Science and those with joint appointments) can be the Chair of a Student's Biology MS Committee. See MS Sponsor Verification Form. All others can be either on the Students Committee or as an Optional 4th member. For MS thesis students, see Supervisory Committee Requirements. For Non-Thesis, MST, or PSM students, see Supervisory Committee Requirements.
| Name | Area of Emphasis | Institution | Ajemian, Matthew | Fisheries ecology and conservation | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Allani, Shailaja | The role of oxidative stress on aging and age-related diseases | FAU Chemistry and Biochemistry | Anderson, Rindy | Behavioral ecology, communication, cognition, sexual selection | FAU College of Science | Assis, Raquel | Data science applications in evolutionary genomics | FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science | Baldwin, John D. | Population genetics and reproductive biology | FAU College of Science | Barenholtz, Elan | Psychophysical and computational approaches to visual and multisensory perception and recognition. | FAU Psychology and Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences | Baronas-Lowell, Ph.D., Diane | Antibiotic Discovery, Molecular Biology, Citizen Science | Icon, PLC Bioanalytical Labs | Beckler, Jordon | Developing and applying autonomous biogeochemical sensing technologies to constrain fundamental elemental cycling mechanisms and rates in redox environments | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Bidaye, Salil | Neuronal control of locomotion | Max Planck Florida Institute | Bildstein, Keith | Avian ecology | Acopian Center, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary | Binninger, David | Role of oxidative damage to proteins in aging | FAU College of Science | Blakely, Randy D. | Synaptic Genetics, Neurochemistry and Pharmacology; Animal Models of Neuropsychiatric Disorders; Transporter Proteins and Psychoactive Drugs | FAU Brain Institute | Bolton, M. McLean | Disorders of neural circuit function | Max Planck Florida Institute | Brandt, Laura | Wetland ecology, alligators | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services | Brooks, Randy | Marine behavioral ecology, symbiology, coral reefs | FAU College of Science | Caputi, Massimo | mRNA processing, mRNA splicing regulation, HIV-1 replication, Bcl apoptotic gene family regulation | FAU College of Medicine | Carlsson, Leif | Composite Material and Sandwich Structures, Solid Mechanics, Finite Element Analysis | FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science | Carvelli, Lucia | Molecular mechanisms of drug addiction; pharmacology and physiology of dopaminergic synapses | FAU Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College | Cavallo, Michelle | STEM Education, Citizen Science, Undergraduate Research Experiences, Informatics | FAU College of Science | Chaves-Fonnegra, Andia | Processes that structure marine habitats, especially coral reefs ecosystems; interactions among organisms and the surrounding environment; reproduction, evolution and connectivity of populations, particularly of sponges, corals and algae; how ecosystems and ecological interactions are altered by anthropogenic activities | FAU Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College | Cherubin, Laurent | Ocean and ecosystem dynamics, and marine connectivity. Tools consist of numerical modeling and field observations using autonomous platforms such as glider and advanced aerial and underwater sensing techniques. | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Claiborne, Brenda | Neuronal development in human hippocampal formation and learning in aged individuals | FAU College of Science | Coen, Lauren | Oyster reef ecology, functioning and associated ecosystem services; marine habitat restoration; remote sensing and monitoring of intertidal habitats and water quality; benthic and shoreline ecology, plant-animal interactions | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Cook, Clayton | Marine science | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Curet, Oscar | Biological propulsion, the interconnection of fluid dynamics and animal locomotion, biomimetics, energy harvesting, bat flight, fish swimming, and direct simulation of freely swimming fish. | FAU Ocean and Mechanical Engineering | Dalgleish, Fraser | Underwater laser imaging and communications, optical properties in marine environments, sensor networks and fluorescence imaging | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Davis, Megan | Develop aquaculture species for food, stock enhancement and to ease fishing pressure on wild stocks | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Davis, Ronald L. | Molecular and cellular basis for learning; diseases that affect learning and memory | The Scripps Research Institute | Dawson-Scully, Ken | Neurobiology of cellular stress and neuroprotection using live cell imaging, electrophysiology and behavior genetics | Nova Southeastern University | DeGiorgio, Michael | Data science applications in population genomics | FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science | Detwiler, Kate | Primate hybridization and speciation, molecular primatology, primate behavioral ecology, conservation of African monkeys and their rainforest habitats | FAU College of Arts and Letters | Devlin , Donna J. | Plant-invertebrate effects on community composition, primarily in estuarine and marine settings (mangrove and salt marsh communities) | Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi | Dorn, Nathan | Freshwater ecology and community ecology | Florida International University | Du, Sarah | Biosensors and microfluidics for the study of cell biomechanics and biophysics, crossing disciplines by utilizing microfabrication, biosensing techniques, soft matter mechanics, biomaterials, and cell biology | FAU Ocean and Mechanical Engineering | Duboue, Erik | Effects of early stress on brain circuitry and function and the etiology of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | FAU Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College | Encomio, Vincent | The oyster reef restoration project: restoration of the oyster beds of the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon | Florida Oceanographic Society | Engeberg, Erik | Biomedical and Bioinspired robotics, sensors, actuators, control systems | FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science | Esiobu, Nwadiuto | Environmental microbiology, drug resistance and antimicrobiosis | FAU College of Science | Fahimipour, Ashkaan | Understanding and modeling complex ecosystems using mathematics and data science | FAU College of Science | Feller, Ilka | Animal-plant interactions; insect-plant interactions in estuarine and forested ecosystems | Smithsonian Environmental Research Center | Fields, Gregg B. | Extracellular matrix biochemistry, synthetic protein design and construction | FAU Chemistry and Biochemistry; Center for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology | Fitzpatrick, David | Functional organization and development of neural circuits in the cerebral cortex, neural basis of visual perception | Max Planck Florida Institute | Fontenas, Laura | Developmental neurobiology, glia - from neural precursors to myelinating cells, and nervous system transition zones | FAU College of Science | Frazier, Evelyn Marques | Entomology, plant/insect interactions | FAU College of Science | Ghoraani, Behnaz | Biomedical signal analysis, data science, machine learning, deep learning, long-term and continuous health monitoring, remote and personalized therapeutic management, Cardiac electrophysiology, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease | FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science | Gibble, Rebekah | Wetland management and conservation | Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge | Godenschwege, Tanja | Molecular and cellular neuroscience, neurodevelopment, cellular basis of neurological disorders and drug discovery | FAU College of Science | Goodbody-Gringley, Gretchen | Understanding how coral reef ecosystems function in order to maintain biodiversity; health, evolution, and resilience of coral reefs, ranging from shallow inshore reefs to the mesophotic zone | Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences | Grant, Patrick | Chromatin Biology and Epigenetics | Biomedical Science, FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine | Guthrie, Kathleen | Neurobiology | Biomedical Science, FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine | Guzman, Esther | Discovery of novel cancer therapeutics including both development of novel molecular target based assays and determination of the mechanism of action of compounds | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Hahn, William | Deep learning neural networks, sparse modeling, compressed sensing, adversarial networks, and reinforcement learning models of brain function. | FAU Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences | Hallstrom, Jason | Sensing systems, data management, affective computing, software engineering | FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science | Hanisak, M. Dennis | Physiological Ecology of Marine Plants (Macroalgae and Seagrasses), Nutrient Dynamics, Coral Reef Ecology, Biology of Deep-water Macroalgae, Aquaculture (particularly Marine Plant Cultivation) | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Hansen, Carl | Understanding G-protein mediated signaling inputs regulating angiogenesis | FAU College of Science | Hart, Kristen | Population-level studies of the ecology of herpetofauna and other wildlife | U.S. Geological Survey | Hartmann, James X. | Immunotherapy for adult chronic lymphocytic leukemia and lupus | FAU College of Science | Herzing, Denise | Marine mammal behavior | Wild Dolphin Project | Huang, Xupei | Cardiovascular physiology and pharmacology, molecular cardiology | Biomedical Science, FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine | Hueter, Robert | Anatomy, physiology, behavior, ecology, and fisheries biology of sharks worldwide | Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium | Hughes, Colin | Evolutionary and conservation genetics | FAU College of Science | Inagaki, Hidehiko | Neural dynamics and cognitive functions | Max Planck Florida Institute | Iragavarapu-Charyulu, Vijaya | Immunology, inflammation and cancer | FAU Biomedical Science | Isgor, Ceylan | Neuromorphological, behavioral and molecular consequences of chronic, variable stress during peripubertal-juvenile period in rats | Biomedical Science, FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine | Isom, Daniel | pH regulation of cell signaling, drug discovery, informatics | Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, University of Miami | Ja, William | Molecular genetics of aging, behavior and disease | The Scripps Research Institute | Jia, Kailiang | Molecular regulation of aging | FAU College of Science | Jiang, Mingshun | Estuarine and coastal dynamics, ocean iron and carbon cycles, water quality, ecosystem functioning, and coastal inundation. | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Kajiura, Stephen | Functional morphology and sensory biology of marine fish | FAU College of Science | Kamasawa, Naomi | Electron microscopy | Max Planck Florida Institute | Kang, Kevin | Biomaterials, stem cell and tissue engineering, and bone regeneration. | FAU Ocean and Mechanical Engineering | Kantorow, Marc | The molecular genetics of eye diseases including age-related human cataract and age-related macular degeneration | Biomedical Science, FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine | Kelso, Scott | Mechanisms of self-organization underlying the coordination of brain and behavior. | FAU Psychology and Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences | Khamoui, Andy | Use of pre-clinical mouse models and human subjects to study cancer cachexia, skeletal muscle biology, exercise physiology, and mitochondrial function in health and disease. | FAU Exercise Science and Health Promotion | Kishi, Shuji | Gene identification and phenotype characterization; Age-related disorders in humans, using zebrafish as a model system | The Scripps Research Institute | Klofstad, Casey | Societal and biological influences on human behavior | Department of Political Science, University of Miami | Koch-Rose, Marguerite | Marine botany, nutrient cycling and climate change in tropical marine systems | FAU College of Science | Kumi-Diaka, J. K. | Reproductive pathophysiology and oncology | FAU College of Science | Lapointe, Brian | Algal physiology and biochemistry, seagrass and coral reef ecology, eutrophication, marine bioinvasions, marine conservation | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Laramore, Susan | Aquatic animal health issues, including biosecurity and disease prevention; aquatic diseases of aquacultured species, with an emphasis on viral diseases of crustaceans and parasitic diseases of bivalves | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Levy, Arkene | Understanding mechanisms of resistance in cancer and development of combination treatment strategies | College of Medical Sciences, Nova Southeastern University | Li, Dawei | Genomics and bioinformatics | FAU Biomedical Science | Li, Zhongwei | RNA metabolism, oxidative stress, biodefense | Biomedical Science, FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine | Lu, Michael | RNA metabolism, RNA therapy, bacterial genomics | Biomedical Science, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine | Lyons, Jay | Cellular physiology and cell signaling processes | FAU College of Science | Macleod, Greg | Mitochondrial support of neurotransmission, pH influences on synaptic plasticity, neurotransmission and aging | FAU Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College | Mansfield, Kate | Marine biology and vertebrate zoology with an emphasis on sea turtle ecology, behavior, habitat use, and conservation | University of Central Florida | Mari, Frank | Peptides and proteins of marine origin, especially those from predatory venomous mollusks belonging to the genus Conus (cone snails), biochemically and functionally characterize components of interest | Hollings Marine Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology | Matilsky, Michael | Embryology and Andrology | IVF Laboratory at Boca Fertility | McCarthy, Peter | Cultivation and identification of the symbiotic microbes present in deep-water marine sponges; screening for novel antimicrobial agents from marine invertebrates and microbes; and finding biotechnological applications for microbial products | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | McCoy, Krista | Understanding how environmental pollutants alter development, physiology, and behavior, and to devise ways to ameliorate their negative effects- from molecules to populations. | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | McCoy, Michael | My research combines observational, experimental, and mathematical approaches to better understand the ecological and evolutionary processes that regulate populations, communities and ecosystems. | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Miller, Courtney | Neurobiological underpinnings of memory disorders, with the goal of developing novel therapeutics | The Scripps Research Institute | Miller, Debra | Pathology of wildlife and exotic species (especially amphibians, sea turtles and marine mammals) | Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Tennessee | Milton, Sarah L. | Vertebrate anoxia tolerance, marine turtle physiology | FAU College of Science | Mitsova, Diana | Environmental modeling, climate change, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), spatial statistics, land cover change modeling, network analysis, hazard assessment | School of Urban and Regional Planning, FAU | Moore, Jon | Ecology, evolution, and distribution of fishes, biology of deep-sea animals, conservation and biodiversity of scrub and flatwood habitats in Florida, and herpetology | Department of Math/Sciences, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, FAU | Murphey, Rod | Development and degeneration of synapses | FAU College of Science | O'Corry-Crowe, Greg | Investigating interactions between these apex predators and their environment | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Oleinik, Anton | Cenozoic stratigraphy, molluscan paleontology, paleobiogeography and paleoclimates of high-latitude regions | Department of Geosciences, FAU | Oleinikov, Andrew | Malaria studies with emphasis on mechanisms of sequestration of infected erythrocytes, protective immune response and vaccine development, anti-adhesion drugs; high throughput and engineering approaches to advance studies of complex biological systems | Department of Biomedical Science, FAU | Osman, Rick | Ecology of populations and communities of marine and estuarine animals that live on the seafloor or in the seafloor sediments | Smithsonian Environmental Research Center | Page, Damon | Genetic regulation of growth and connectivity in the developing brain, and how cognition is shaped by the interplay of these "hard-wiring" processes and adaptation via plasticity. | The Scripps Research Institute | Page-Karjian, Annie | Investigating the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and disease ecology of infectious diseases and neoplasia of marine mammals and turtles. | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Paul, Valerie | Ecological roles of marine natural products, impact of toxic cyanobacterial (Lynbya spp.) blooms on coral reef habitats | Smithsonian Marine Station | Pavlovic, Mirjana | Bioengineering, translating lab data to the clinical arena, autoimmune diseases, autism | FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science | Pena, Rodrigo | Computational Neuroscience and Machine Learning; How different levels of brain organization communicate; Pathological and healthy states; Ion channels, neurons, and networks. | FAU College of Science | Perry, Gary | Molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating cell growth during neural development, regeneration, plasticity and neo-plasticity; SIDS; educational neuroscience: brain-based learning | Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, FAU | Pomponi, Shirley | Developing in vitro techniques for production of sponge-derived bioactive molecules | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Ponzio, Kimberli | Wetland ecology | Palatka Headquarters, St. Johns River Water Management District | Porter, Marianne E. | Biomechanics and functional morphology and physiology | FAU College of Science | Prentice, Howard | Hypoxia and the cardiovascular system | Department of Biomedical Science, FAU | Proffitt, C. Edward | Ecology of marine macrophytes and invertebrates | Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi | Puthanveettil, Sathyanarayanan | Molecular and cellular basis of long-term memory storage and its disorders | The Scripps Research Institute | Rangaraju, Vidhya | Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Neuroenergetics | Max Planck Florida Institute | Rathinavelu, Appu | Standardization and application of real-time PCR techniques in gene expression | Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nova Southeastern University | Riche, Martin | Nutrition and physiology of aquatic animals, larval marine fish | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Robishaw, Janet | Genomics and Precision Medicine | Biomedical Science, FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine | Romanach, Stephanie | Wildlife ecology, ecological models | U.S. Geological Survey | Rumbaugh, Gavin | How synaptic proteins actively contribute to memory formation and storage | The Scripps Research Institute | Salmon, Michael | Animal behavior | FAU College of Science | Shanbhag, Venkatesh | Organic Synthesis, Bio-active molecules, Natural Products | Department of Chemistry and Physics, Nova Southeastern University | Shen, Wen | Neurophysiology, receptor pharmacology, synapsis, glutamate toxicity | Department of Biomedical Science, FAU | Smith, Ned | Physical oceanography, air-sea interaction in estuarine and continental shelf waters, wind-driven and tidal transport processes, low-frequency variations in water levels, local air-water heat energy exchanges | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Smith, Roy | Basis of metabolic diseases and identifying the physiological changes that cause loss of function during aging | The Scripps Research Institute | Stackman, Jr., Robert W. | Learning and memory | Department of Psychology and Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, FAU | Stern, Sarah | Neuroscience, Neural Circuits and Behavior, Transcriptomics | Max Planck Florida Institute | Stewart, Kelly | Marine vertebrate ecology and behavior, population dynamics and genetics, biogeography, threatened species biology and conservation and field biology | Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | Sutton, Tracey T. | Quantitative ecology and structure of marine ecosystems | Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Nova Southeastern | Tao, Rui | Neural circuits affected by drug abuse, Psychostimulant-induced hallucinations, Environmental factor-dependent effects of psychostimulants | Department of Biomedical Science, FAU | Telkes, Ilknur | Biomedical signal processing and machine learning, neural markers, neuromodulation implants (e.g., spinal cord stimulation, deep brain stimulation), chronic pain, movement disorders, clinical research, medical technologies | FAU College of Medicine | Theisen, Tim C. | Movement patterns, population structure and physiology of marine fish | FAU College of Science | Thompson, Nancy | Marine science | Keys Marine Laboratory | Toll, Lawrence | Neuropharmacology of opioid and nicotinic receptors with respect to pain and drug abuse | FAU College of Medicine | Van Praag, Henriette | Regulation and function of adult hippocampal neurogenesis | Department of Biomedical Science, FAU | Varela, Carmen | Thalamic circuits and their contribution to the mechanisms of learning. | FAU Psychology | Vertes, Robert | Behavioral neuroscience, functional organization of the brainstem and its role in controlling the activity of the forebrain and neurophysiology of sleep | Department of Psychology and Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, FAU | Volin, John | Conservation biology | Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Connecticut | Voss, Joshua | Coral reef ecology, development of advance molecular technologies with field-based ecological applications, molecular profiling of bacterial communities, marine conservation and management, integration within and among academic disciplines | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Wang, Yingxue | Neuronal mechanisms of episodic memory | Max Planck Florida Institute | Wei, Jianning | Neurodegenerative disorders | Department of Biomedical Science, FAU | Weissbach, Herbert | Effect of oxidative stress on normal and cancer cells | FAU College of Science | West, Lyndon | Discovery of pharmacologically-active metabolites from marine invertebrates, anti-cancer and anti-microbial agents, use of stem cells in developing new drugs for cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases | FAU Chemistry and Biochemistry | Wetterer, James | Biogeography, ecology, and environmental impact of ants,biogeography and ecology of West Indian ants, distribution, impact, and control of exotic ants, impact of exotic ants on hatchling sea turtles in Florida | FAU Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College | Widder, Edith | Protection and restoration of marine ecosystems, and the species they sustain | Ocean Research and Conservation Association | Wills, Paul | Aquaculture of finfish for food and stock enhancement; development of new fish species for aquaculture | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Wojcikiewicz, Ewa | Inflammation and cancer research | Department of Biomedical Science, FAU | Wright, Amy | Investigation of marine natural products from marine invertebrates and associated bacterial symbionts | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Wu, Jang Yen | Neurotransmission and brain disorders | Department of Biomedical Science, FAU | Wyneken, Jeanette | Integrative biology, comparative and functional morphology | FAU College of Science | Xu, Baoji | How neural circuits are formed, modified, and maintained in the brain | The Scripps Research Institute | Yasuda, Ryohei | Neuronal signal transduction | Max Planck Florida Institute | Young, Joy | Spawning dynamics | Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation | Zhang, Xing-Hai | Plant physiology, molecular biology and biotechnology | FAU College of Science |
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