People: Faculty
Andrew Read
Senior Vice President for Research; Evan Pugh Professor of Biology and Entomology; Eberly Professor of Biotechnology
The ecology and evolutionary genetics of infectious disease.
John Regan
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Biological treatment processes, molecular microbial ecology, bioenergy production.
Tanya Renner
Associate Professor of Entomology
Evolution of chemical and structural defense. Molecular evolution, evolutionary genomics, and transcriptomics. Origins and evolution of carnivorous plants.
Veronica Roman-Reyna
Assistant Professor of Global Change Pathology
I work on understanding how plant-associated microbes change in agricultural systems.
Cristina Rosa
Professor of Plant Pathology & Environmental Microbiology
Plant Virology, interaction of plant viruses with their insects as vectors and with their plant hosts. Virus evolution, exploration of plant viromes, viral co-infections, effect of climate change on viral resistant breaking strains. Use of nanotechnologies for virus detection and virus disease management.
Carly Schissel
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
The discovery, design, and synthesis of bioactive peptides with unusual amino acids and structures to create novel peptides with therapeutic potential and understand how these unusual structures can bestow new functions.
Amir Sheikhi
Huck Early Career Chair in Biomaterials and Regenerative Engineering ; Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering
Micro- and nanoengineered soft materials for medicine and the environment; microfluidic-enabled biomaterials for tissue engineering and regeneration; living materials; next-generation bioadhesives, tissue sealants, and hemostatic agents; hydrogels for minimally invasive medical technologies; self-healing and adaptable soft materials; smart coatings; hairy nanocelluloses as an emerging family of advanced materials.
Justin Silverman
Assistant Professor of Information Sciences and Technology
Statistical methods for the analysis of biomedical data (or any other interesting data/questions)
Vishal Singh
Associate Professor of Nutritional Physiology and Microbiome
Mary Ann Smith
Biology Lecturer (Schuylkill)
The isolation of microorganisms with the potential for antibiotic production within soil and sourdough systems
Moriah Szpara
Professor of Biology
How genetic variation influences the outcomes of viral infection, particularly for neurotropic viruses such as herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2, using high-throughput sequencing, comparative genomics, neuronal cultures, and genetic manipulation of both host and pathogen.
Claire Thomas
Associate Professor of Biology and of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Roles of the cytoskeleton at the cell membrane in epithelial cells, including issues of cell polarity and adhesion, cell signaling, and morphogenesis.
Cheryl Thompson
Professor of Public Health Sciences
The intersection of behavioral, lifestyle and environmental factors with inherited variation to influence individual risk of cancer or cancer outcomes.
Natasha Tirko
Director, Master of Biotechnology Degree Program; Associate Teaching Professor
Andres Valdez
Assistant Research Professor
Studies the interactions between Bacteria, Nutrients, and Phage in physically structured domains.
Joseph Wang
Assistant Professor of Cell and Biological Systems
The molecular mechanisms underlying the complex life cycle of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection using electron microscopy (primary) and other biochemical and biophysical approaches.
Emily Weinert
Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The mechanisms by which bacteria sense and respond to the environment, as well as how these signaling proteins/pathways affect competition, host colonization, and pathogenesis.
Laura Weyrich
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Reconstructing ancient oral microbiomes and supporting ancient DNA analysis of past humans, environments, and animals.