Full-Time Faculty
FOR INQUIRIES ON ADVISING, COURSES AND MORE, PLEASE CONTACT US: BIOLSCI@FULLERTON.EDU
Joel K. Abraham
Professor and Director of Catalyst Center
Research: Biology education, educational technology, graphing skills, plant ecology, urban agriculture
Catherine Brennan
Associate Professor
Research: Innate immunity, phagocytosis, genetic approaches to cell biology, blood cells, Drosophila
Jennifer Burnaford
Professor
Research: Marine community ecology, species interactions, abiotic factors influencing species distributions
Merri Lynn Casem
Professor and Chair
Research: Biology education, spider silk
Carol Chaffee
Full Time Lecturer and Elements of Biology Coordinator
Research: Population biology, migration, science education
Esther Chen
Associate Professor
Research: Molecular biology of microbe-host interactions; genes and signals in the symbiosis between Sinorhizobium meliloti and its host, Medicago sativa
Amybeth Cohen
Professor, Vice-Chair, and Director, Maximizing Access to Research Careers Scholars Program (MARC)
Research: Regulation of photosynthetic gene expression in plant cells, nuclear-chloroplast interactions, expression of foreign therapeutic proteins in the unicellular green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Math P. Cuajungco
Professor, Director of Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U-RISE) Program, and Co-investigator for Neurocognitive Aging Analytics Research and Education (NAARE) Program
Research: Molecular, structural, and cellular biology of transient receptor potential mucolipin (TRPML) ion channels and Transmembrane proteins: TMEM163 (ZnT11), TMEM176A, and TMEM176B; Zinc neurobiology and zinc transporters; Metallobiology of Mucolipidosis type IV (MLIV) and other neurodegenerative diseases
Joshua P. Der
Associate Professor
Research: Plant evolutionary genomics, plant systematics, bioinformatics, and molecular evolution. Evolution of life history transitions in parasitic plants (esp. mistletoes) and land plants (esp. ferns)
Douglas J. Eernisse
Professor
Research: Animal phylogeny; evolution of Mollusca; marine zoology; systematics; population genetics; bioinformatics
Kristy L. Forsgren
Associate Professor
Research: Fish reproductive morphology, physiology, and endocrinology
William J. Hoese
Professor & Director Southern California Ecosystems Research Program
Research: Biology education, student learning, animal communication, functional morphology
Veronica Jimenez Ortiz
Associate Professor
Research: Role of ion channels in sensing and adaptation to environmental conditions in protozoan parasites, mechanosensation, electrophysiology
Hope A. Johnson
Professor
Research: Microbial metal oxidation and reduction – the formation and dissolution of rocks. Identifying the function of bacterial proteins with no known function. Water quality and bioremediation
Alison Miyamoto
Associate Professor
Research: Molecular mechanisms of Notch receptor signaling by typical and atypical ligands; developmental and cell biology of elastic fiber proteins
Nikolas Nikolaidis
Professor
Research: Comparative genomics; bioinformatics; phylogenetics; molecular evolution and biochemistry of proteins involved in the innate and adaptive immune systems and stress response
Jeffrey Olberding
Assistant Professor
Research: Muscle physiology, biomechanics, the evolution and ecology of animal movement
Erin (Misty) Paig-Tran
Associate Professor
Research: Functional Anatomy, biomechanics, biomimetics and biomaterials
Nilay Patel
Associate Professor, and Director, Bridges to Stem Cell Research (BSCR) program
Research: Niclosamide and related drugs block cell proliferation by modulating signal transduction and gene expression
María Soledad Ramírez
Associate Professor
Research: Molecular mechanisms of antibiotic resistance, their dissemination, evolution, as well as impact in the morbidity and mortality of bacterial infections
Melanie A. Sacco
Associate Professor
Research: Molecular biology of plant-pathogen interactions, protein-protein interactions and signaling in disease resistance
Darren R. Sandquist
Professor and Director of California Desert Studies Consortium
Research: Desert plant ecology; evolution and ecology of plant physiology; biogeochemistry; applications of stable isotopes in ecological research; invasive species
H. Jochen Schenk
Professor
Research: Plant physiology and ecophysiology, plant water relations, structure and function of plant hydraulic systems, irrigation in horticulture
Parvin Shahrestani
Associate Professor
Research: Evolutionary genomics, population genetics, experimental evolution, aging, immunity, Drosophila melanogaster.
Paul Stapp
Professor and Graduate Studies Adviser
Research: Wildlife population and community ecology; species interactions; wildlife-habitat relationships; invasive species, including pathogens; ecology of insular, desert, grassland and agro-ecosystems; conservation biology
Marcelo E. Tolmasky
Professor and Director, Center for Applied Biotechnology Studies (CABS)
Research: Molecular genetics of mechanisms that contribute to the virulence pathogenic bacteria
Megan Tommerup
Full Time Lecturer; Biological Science Minor Adviser
Research: Endangered species monitoring and restoration, evolution of rare plant breeding systems, science education
Sean E. Walker
Professor and Associate Dean - College of Nat. Sciences and Mathematics (not taking Graduate Students)
Research: Evolutionary and behavioral ecology, evolution of sexual dimorphism, life-history evolution, sexual selection, statistical analysis of biological data, biology education
Ryan P. Walter
Associate Professor
Research: Molecular ecology, hybridization and speciation, phylogeography, organismal dispersal and population connectivity, population genetics, evolution of fishes
Danielle C. Zacherl
Professor
Research: Marine Ecology, Marine Population Connectivity, Restoration Ecology, Marine Invertebrates