Core Faculty
Faculty List (Alphabetical)
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Coenraad Adema, Associate Professor |
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Ulfar Bergthorsson, Associate Professor Molecular evolution; evolution of bacterial and organellar genomes; horizontal gene transfer; evolution of RNA editing, gene duplication and evolution of novel gene function; evolution of mutation rate. |
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James H. Brown, Distinguished Professor; Co-director, Programs in Biomedical & Biological Sciences (PIBBS) On Sabbitical until Jan. 2012 Community ecology and biogeography, with special projects on granivory in desert ecosystems; biogeography of insular habitats; and structure of dynamics of geographic-scale assemblages of many species. |
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Eric L. Charnov, Distinguished Professor Evolutionary ecology. |
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Scott L. Collins, Professor; Director, Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) |
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Joseph A. Cook, Professor; Director, Museum of Southwestern Biology, & Curator, Division of Mammals, Museum of Southwestern Biology; Program Coordinator, Undergraduate Opportunties (UnO) Program biotic conservation, historical biogeography, molecular & morphological evolution, systematics, speciation, natural history of subterranean mammals, island biology. |
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Lee Couch, Lecturer II Parasitology: taxonomy and systematics of coccidian parasites of wild animals; host-parasite interactions. Coordinator of Microbiology facility and labs and lecturer in Microbiology. |
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Cara Lea Council-Garcia, Lecturer II Coordinating and designing of undergraduate biology major labs, biology labs for health-related majors, and biology labs for non-majors biology courses. |
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Richard M. Cripps, Professor & Dept. Chair; Director, Postbaccalaureate Research & Education Program (PREP) Using genetics and molecular biology to understand muscle development in Drosophila: regulation of muscle-specific gene transcription; identification and characterization of new genes required for heart and muscle development; cell biology of developing muscle fibers. |
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Charles Cunningham, Associate Professor Invertebrate Immunology; oysters as environmental biosensors; annotating the genome of the oyster Crassistrea gigas; the response of schistosome to stressors; the mode of action of the anti-schistosomal drug praziquantel. |
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Clifford N. Dahm, Professor Aquatic ecology; stream/groundwater interactions; microbial ecology; nutrient cycling; microbial and chemical processes in volcanic environments; dissolved organic carbon in streams; stream ecosystems. Heads the Hydrogeoecology Research Group. |
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Christina O. Fridrick, Lecturer II The genetics of muscle development in Drosophila. |
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David T. Hanson, Associate Professor Interactions between photosynthesis and respiration, diffusion of CO2 within plant tissues, evolution of photosynthetic CO2 concentrating mechanisms; physiological ecology of early land plants and algae, and algal biofuels/bioproducts. |
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Bruce V. Hofkin, Lecturer III Parasitology; molecular screening of wildlife pathogens; vector control. |
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Kelly A. Howe, Lecturer III The genetics of sexual development in Neurospora crassa; regulation of gene expression by small RNAs; peroxisome assembly and function. |
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Vaishali Katju, Assistant Professor |
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Astrid Kodric-Brown, Professor Ecological behavior. The importance of sexual selection in sympatric speciation and introgression of lineages in fish. Testing models of sexual selection. Breeding systems in fish and the maintenance of alternative reproductive tactics. |
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Marcy E. Litvak, Associate Professor Ecosystem physiology and ecology, plant physiological ecology; emphasis on investigating the effects of climate variability, disturbance and/or land use on the exchange of carbon, water and energy between ecosystems and the atmosphere. |
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Eric S. (Sam) Loker, Regents' Professor; Director, NIH COBRE Center for Evolutionary & Theoretical Immunology (CETI) Immunobiology of host–parasite interactions with emphasis on schistosomes and other snail-transmitted parasites; immune systems of invertebrates; comparative immunology; evolution of schistosomes. |
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Timothy K. Lowrey, Professor; Curator, UNM Herbarium, Museum of Southwestern Biology |
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Diane L. Marshall, Professor & Regents' Lecturer; Director, Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program Plant population biology; plant reproductive ecology and genetics; the evolution and ecological significance of patterns of plasticity in plants; plant resource allocation. |
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Kelly B. Miller, Associate Professor; Curator, Division of Arthropods, Museum of Southwestern Biology Insect systematics and evolution; insect morphology and natural history; insect phylogenetics using morphological and molecular data; evolution of sexual conflict in arthropods in a phylogenetic framework; aquatic insect taxonomy. |
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Robert D. Miller, Professor Comparative immunology; evolution of vertebrate antigen receptor genes; evolution of maternal/fetal interactions and immunity. |
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Bruce T. Milne, Professor; Director, Sustainability Studies Program On Sabbitical until Jan. 2012 Ecology; landscape ecology; multivariate statistics and fractal geometry. |
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Donald O. Natvig, Professor |
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Mary Anne Nelson, Professor Sexual development in Neurospora crassa; the control of gene expression during development; fungal genomics. |
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William T. Pockman, Associate Professor, Regents' Lecturer, & Associate Dept. Chair Whole plant physiological ecology of desert vegetation; ecological implications of xylem cavitation and hydraulic conductance; evolution of drought tolerance characteristics; ecophysiological perspectives on plant competition and invasion; plant and community response to climate change. |
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Steven Poe, Associate Professor Theory and practice of phylogenetic systematics; Anolis lizard biology; herpetology, especially lizards and crocodilians; evolution of development; philosophy of biology. |
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Olga M.F. Pontes, Assistant Professor We aim to understand how nuclear architecture, RNAi and epigenetics interact to create and transmit the functional complexity of higher eukaryotes. We use an integrated multidisciplinary approach encompassing advanced live-cell imaging microscopy, proteomics, whole-genome sequencing in combination with genetics and molecular biology. |
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Irene Salinas, Assistant Professor The evolution of mucosal immune responses in early vertebrates (mostly fish) at the cellular and molecular level. The interactions between fish immune system and commensal microorganisms. Fish parasites and the host immune responses. |
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David J. Schmidly, UNM President & Professor Natural history of mammals of the Southwest, especially Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico; mammalian systematics, particularly those of the genus Peromyscus; and conservation of habitats. |
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Marieken G. Shaner, Lecturer II Evolutionary ecology, plant reproductive biology, and a persistent fascination with microbes. |
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Robert L. Sinsabaugh, Professor Ecosystem ecology, microbiology, nutrient cycling. |
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Felisa A. Smith, Professor; Director, Programs in Biomedical & Biological Sciences (PIBBS) Paleoecological and evolutionary research; effects of current global and past climatic change on mammals. |
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Howard L. Snell, Professor; Curator, Division of Amphibians & Reptiles, The Museum of Southwestern Biology Conservation biology of the Galápagos islands, evolutionary ecology, and herpetology. |
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Stephen A. Stricker, Professor; Director, Electron Microscopy Facility Cell and developmental biology; the roles of kinases and cyclic nucleotides in eggs; calcium dynamics during oocyte maturation, fertilization, and early development. |
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James Swan, Lecturer II Teaches human anatomy and physiology and prosection. Coordinator of anatomy and physiology labs. |
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Cristina D. Takacs-Vesbach, Associate Professor & Associate Dept. Chair Molecular microbial ecology, especially microbial diversity and productivity in extreme environments. |
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Randy Thornhill, Distinguished Professor Evolution and ecology of social interactions, especially sexual interactions and sexual selection. |
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Eric C. Toolson, Professor Physiological ecology; evolution of physiological and biochemical adaptations; thermobiology and water relations of insects and arachnids; ecological genetics. |
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Thomas F. Turner, Professor; Curator, Division of Fishes, The Museum of Southwestern Biology Evolutionary ecology of fishes, especially the role of early life history variation in population persistance and dispersal biology; population genetics: ecological and biogeographic determinants of population structure in fishes; molecular systematics of fishes. |
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Andreas Wagner, Associate Professor On Leave of Absence Evolution of gene networks; evolution of developmental pathways; redundant gene functions and their evolution; architecture of biochemical networks; gene network reconstruction; evolution of modularity and robustness in metabolic networks, developmental pathways, and RNA; whole genome analysis of transcriptional regulatory regions. |
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Robert B. Waide, Professor Long-term population dynamics of tropical organisms; trophic dynamics in tropical ecosystems; the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function; the effect of changes in land use and land cover on regional climate; the relationship among abiotic gradients, disturbance, and ecosystem structure and function; the use of remotely-sensed data to estimate biodiversity. |
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Margaret Werner-Washburne, Regents' Professor; Director, Initiatives to Maximze Student Diversity (IMSD) Program Regulation of the quiescent state and exit from quiescence; fungal genomics; genome-level analysis of gene expression, compuational biology. |
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Helen J. Wearing, Assistant Professor Theoretical biology and disease ecology; using mathematical and statistical approaches to understand the biological processes that shape population and community dynamics, with an emphasis on host-parasite interactions. |
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Christopher C. Witt, Assistant Professor; Curator, Division of Birds, Museum of Southwestern Biology Avian systematics and molecular evolution; evolutionary inference using phylogenetic comparative methods; biogeography of the Neotropics; hummingbird evolution and comparative physiology; high-altitude adaptation; integrative ornithology. |
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Blair O. Wolf, Associate Professor Physiological ecology, ecology of desert animals, plant–animal interactions, animal energetics and water balance. Avian biology, particularly reproductive biology and habitat selection. |