Biology
Department

Education:

BS in Zoology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA; MS in Biology, University of Illinois, Champaign Urbana, IL; PhD in Biology, University of Illinois, Champaign Urbana, IL

Curriculum Vitae (pdf)

Courses Taught:

• BIOL 100 Contemporary Bioscience – Human Biology
• BIOL 105 Principles of Biology I
• BIOL 106 Principles of Biology II
• BIOL 330 Human Anatomy and Physiology
• BIOL 401 Developmental Biology

Research Interests

I have always been drawn to and fascinated by the beautiful patterns in nature. My research involves understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that direct pattern in developing and regenerating organisms. In my lab we currently study limb regeneration in the Mexican Salamander, head and tail regeneration in a small fresh water worm, and embryonic development in squid. My squid research takes me to the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA each summer where I also co-direct a group of visiting summer researchers from Hong Kong.

Current projects

• The role of growth factors in amphibian limb regeneration.
• The impact of endocrine disrupters on salamander limb regeneration and metamorphosis.
• Regeneration in a fresh water worm and the impact of environmental toxins on this organism.
• The molecular mechanisms that direct early pattern formation and embryogenesis in squid.

Interesting Links

• Sigma Xi
• Society for Developmental Biology
• Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
• American Association for University Women
• The Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA
• Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Solomons, MD
• Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center (formerly known as the Axolotl Colony)
• Mount Desert Biological Laboratory