The Biology Department consists of 45 full-time faculty members, 51 graduate teaching assistants, and a support staff of six. The Department is among the most active on campus in terms of outstanding teaching, research, and public service. Current members of the Biology faculty include book authors and editors, officers in learned societies, and contributors to scientific journals.

Faculty members have contributed to many prestigious journals, including the American Journal of Botany, Behaviour, Cancer Research, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Copeia, Ecology, Herpetologica, Journal of Arachnology, Journal of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, Journal of Experimental Zoology, Journal of Herpetology, Journal of Neuroscience, Journal of Parasitology, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Journal of Theoretical Biology, Mycologia, Nature, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Science, Taxon, and Virology.

To learn more about a faculty member, click on his/her name.

Elliott Altman Ph.D. - California Institute of Technology
Metabolic engineering and peptide therapeutics

Frank C. Bailey Ph.D. - Clemson University
Aquatic toxicology

George W. Benz Ph.D. - University of British Columbia
Marine biology; Aquatic ecology

Sarah Bergemann Ph.D. - University of Wyoming
Botany (mycology); Plant genetics

Kurt Blum Ph.D. - Florida State University
Angiosperm taxonomy and ecology

Lynn Boyd Ph.D. - University of Utah Medical School
Developmental and cellular biology

Andrew Brower Ph.D. - Cornell University
Entomology; molecular systematics

William Butler M.S. - Tennessee State University

A. Bruce Cahoon Ph.D. - University of Virginia
Chloroplast biology; Maize genetics; Plant biotechnology

Vincent A. Cobb Ph.D. - Idaho State University
Behavioral/physiological ecology; Thermal biology; Human anatomy/physiology

John D. DuBois Ph.D. - Miami University of Ohio
Plant physiology; Biological literature

Matthew Elrod-Erickson Ph.D. - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Developmental biology; Cell biology; Genetics

M. Gore Ervin Ph.D. - Mississippi State University
Animal physiology; Embryology; Histology; Developmental/Perinatal biology

Anthony L. Farone Ph.D. - Miami University of Ohio
Immunology; Microbiology

Mary B. Farone Ph.D. - Miami University of Ohio
Clinical Microbiology; Biotechnology

Christopher Herlihy Ph.D. - Queen's University
Botany; Plant mating system evolution; Cedar Glade ecology

R. Stephen Howard Ph.D. - Indiana University
Evolutionary ecology; Population biology

Amy E. Jetton Ph.D. - Northwestern University
Reproductive endocrinology; Animal physiology

Sandra Johnson Ph.D. - University of South Carolina
Plant ecology; Plant-animal interactions

J. Padgett Kelly Ph.D. - Mississippi State University
Marine education, Environmental education

Matthew Klukowski Ph.D. - Indiana University
Animal physiology; Endocrinology; Behavior; Herpetology

Jeffrey D. Leblond Ph.D. - University of Tennessee
Environmental microbiology; Phycology

Charles R. McGhee Ph.D. - Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Arachnid systematics, Distribution, Ecology

Brian T. Miller Ph.D. - Washington State University
Vertebrate morphology and natural history; Herpetology

Ashley Morris Ph.D. - University of Florida
Plant populations, Phylogeography, Systematics

Dennis M. Mullen Ph.D. - Michigan State University
Stream ecology; Ichthyology

George G. Murphy Ph.D. - Mississippi State University
Vertebrate ecology; Herpetology

Anthony L. Newsome Ph.D. - University of Memphis
Microbiology; Parasitology

Ryan Otter Ph.D. - Clemson University
Environmental Toxicology; Ecology

J. Brian Robertson Ph.D. - Vanderbilt University
Microbial physiology, Biological rhythms, Bioluminescence

Wayne C. Rosing Ph.D. - University of Texas-Austin
Mycology; Botany; Microbiology

Michael Rutledge Ed.D. - Ball State University
General biology; Evolution

Kim C. Sadler Ed.D. - Tennessee State University
Biology education; Environmental education

Mohamed Salem Ph.D. - West Virginia University
Animal genomics

Rebecca Seipelt-Thiemann Ph.D. - University of Kentucky
Genetics; Microbiology; Bioethics

Cindi Smith-Walters Ph.D. - Oklahoma State University
Environmental education; Environmental science

William C. Stewart Ph.D. - East Carolina University
Animal physiology; Neurobiology

Jeffrey Walck Ph.D. - University of Kentucky
Plant Ecology; Rare/endangered plants

Stephen M. Wright Ph.D. - University of North Dakota
Microbiology; Virology

John M. Zamora Ph.D. - Auburn University

Temporary Instructors
Ying Gao Ph.D.
Brian Manning Ph.D.
Amy Massengill Ph.D.
Mary Penuel-Matthews