Faculty

Lacy Alexander

Professor of Kinesiology
Dr. Alexander utilizes in vivo and in vitro approaches using the human cutaneous circulation to examine the underlying signaling mechanisms mediating microvascular dysfunction with primary human aging, hypercholesterolemia, and essential hypertension.

Paul Bartell

Associate Professor of Avian Biology
The regulation of biological clocks in birds at the systems level.

Peter Butler

Professor of Bioengineering
Fundamental molecular mechanisms by which vascular endothelial cells sense the forces from flowing blood and transduce this mechanical information into adjustments of cell and tissue biology.

Orfeu Buxton

Elizabeth Fenton Susman Professor of Biobehavioral Health
The causes of chronic sleep deficiency in the workplace, home, and society; the health consequences of chronic sleep deficiency, especially cardiometabolic outcomes, and the physiologic and social mechanisms by which these outcomes arise. Successful aging is a central focus of this work. Ongoing interdisciplinary human studies involve sleep loss, aging, and insomnia, as well as health disparities.

Margherita Cantorna

Director of the Center for Molecular Immunology and Infectious Disease; Distinguished Professor of Molecular Immunology
Understanding the working of the immune system. Utilizing animal models of several human diseases including enteric infections and inflammatory bowel disease to determine the cellular targets and molecular signals by which dietary components regulate immunity.

Sonia Cavigelli

Chair, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Neuroscience; Associate Professor of Biobehavioral Health
Development of temperament/personality; relationship of temperament and social status to stress and health; individual differences in stress and health in the natural environment.

Nikki Crowley

Director, Neuroscience Institute – University Park; Huck Early Career Chair in Neurobiology & Neural Engineering; Assistant Professor of Biology and Biomedical Engineering; Associate Director for Postdoctoral Training and Leadership, Center for Neural Engineering
Investigation of peptidergic transmission throughout the brain, using cell-specific and pathway-specific manipulations to understand how peptides alter neuronal signaling and behavior, particularly in the context of stress and drug use.

nzc27@psu.edu

Mary Jane De Souza

Distinguished Professor of Kinesiology
Women's health and Physical Activity, Endocrinology of the Female Athlete, Effects of Exercise on the Menstrual Cycle, Female Athlete Triad (Eating disorders, amenorrhea and osteoporosis), Eating Behaviors, Food Intake, and Exercise, Luteal Phase Defects and Amenorrhea, Bone Health and Osteoporosis in Female Athletes, and Energy Deficiency and Bone Health.

Francisco Diaz

Director of the Center for Reproductive Health and Biology; Associate Professor of Reproductive Biology
Ovarian physiology. Role of SMAD-mediated signaling in follicular and female germ cell (oocyte) development.

Erika Ganda

Assistant Professor of Food Animal Microbiomes
Developing practical ways to leverage the microbiome to improve food safety and improve food production animals' production efficiency.

Alison Gernand

Ann Atherton Hertzler Early Career Professor in Global Health; Assistant Professor of Nutritional Sciences

Pamela Giblin

Professor of Immunology
The role of receptor tyrosine kinases in normal physiology and disease progression; the downstream signals that mediate these responses in vivo and in vitro.

Molly Hall

Dr. Frances Keesler Graham Early Career Professor; Assistant Professor of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
Building tools to elucidate the complex genetic and environmental underpinnings of human disease. Integrating genetic (genotype, sequence, structural variation) and exposure (derived from surveys and metabolomics methods) big data to predict disease status.

William Hancock

Professor of Bioengineering
The detailed workings of motor proteins and their role in intracellular transport and cell motility.

Kevin Harvatine

Associate Professor of Nutritional Physiology
Investigation of dietary factors that modify ruminal fatty acid biohydrogenation, regulation of synthesis of milk components, and basic regulation of lipid synthesis with the continual goal of developing feeding strategies to improve the efficiency and performance of dairy cows

Camilla Hughes

Assistant Professor of Reproductive Biology
Reproductive biology, ovarian function, and reproductive-immune interaction

Joshua Kellogg

Emphasis Area Representative, Molecular Toxicology; Assistant Professor of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
Development of new metabolomics tools for chemical and biological characterization of complex systems. Discovery of new natural products from plants and microorganisms with novel bioactivity against pathogenic fungi and neglected tropical diseases. Bioanalytical techniques to probe the mechanism of action and basic biology of these target organisms. Ethnobotany and indigenous knowledge surrounding plant-based medicine.