Faculty
OEB brings together more than 75 faculty, providing critical mass needed for effective graduate training. Our faculty are drawn from 10 departments at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and from across the Five College System (Amherst, Hampshire, Mt. Holyoke, and Smith Colleges), as well as from off-campus institutions. OEB faculty are engaged in cutting edge research, with research clusters in four broad areas:
Animal Behavior
Behavioral ecology, communication, learning
Ecology
Community ecology, population ecology, landscape ecology, conservation biology
Evolutionary Biology
Evolution, phylogenetics, population genetics, molecular evolution
Organismal Biology
Physiology, morphology, paleontology, developmental biology
All OEB faculty are listed below. To help applicants to our graduate program locate a faculty sponsor, the faculty list can be filtered by four broad research areas. A list of faculty who are activiely seeking graduate students can be found HERE
Name | Research Interests |
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Lynn Adler Professor, Biology |
Ecology and evolution of insect-plant interactions |
R. Craig Albertson Professor, Biology |
Evolutionary Developmental Biology |
Dominique R. Alfandari Professor of Developmental Biology, Veterinary and Animal Sciences |
Cell migration in Developmental systems |
Courtney C. Babbitt Associate Professor, Biology |
Evolutionary Genomics |
Madelaine Bartlett Associate Professor, Biology |
Evolution of plant development; Molecular evolution |
Tobias Baskin Professor, Biology |
Regulation of Plant Morphogenesis During Growth & Development |
Annaliese Beery Associate Professor of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Biology, Smith College |
Neuroendocrinology of social behavior |
Jesse Bellemare Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, Smith College |
Plant ecology, biogeography and evolution |
Eric L. Bittman Professor Emeritus, Biology |
Circadian Rhythms, Reproduction, and Seasonal Changes in Brain Function |
Jeffrey L. Blanchard Associate Professor, Biology |
Microbial cellular and community networks; influence of environmental change on the evolution of molecular processes; systems biology; bioinformatics |
Bethany A. Bradley Professor, Environmental Conservation |
Biogeography and spatial ecology of terrestrial plant invasions |
Patricia Brennan Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, Mt. Holyoke College |
Evolutionary consequences of interactions between behavior, morphology and the environment |
Jill L. Bubier Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science, Mt. Holyoke College |
Carbon cycling in northern wetlands |
John P. Buonaccorsi Professor Emeritus, Mathematics and Statistics |
Statistical theory, methods and applcations, Quantitative ecology |
Bruce Byers Associate Professor, Biology |
Acoustic communication in birds |
Ana Caicedo Professor, Biology |
Evolutionary genomics of adaptation and divergence in wild, weedy and crop plant species |
Graham Caldwell Associate Professor, Kinesiology |
Muscle mechanics and modeling in human motor performance |
Theodore Castro–Santos Adjunct Assistant Professor, Biology |
Biomechanics and Behavior of Migratory Fishes; Bioengineering of Fish Passage Structures |
Brian S. Cheng Assistant Professor, Environmental Conservation |
Marine global change ecology and the dynamics of predator-prey interactions |
Ethan D. Clotfelter Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies, Amherst College |
Reproductive behavior of birds and fishes |
Erin Conlon Associate Professor, Mathematics and Statistics |
Statistical methods in genomics and bioinformatics |
Daniel R. Cooley Professor of Plant Pathology, Stockbridge School of Agriculture |
Epidemiology, ecology and sustainable management of plant diseases |
Cristina Cox Fernandes Lecturer/Adjunct Research Associate Professor, Biology Curator of Fishes, Natural History Collections |
Ecology and evolutionary diversity of neotropical freshwater fishes, particularly within the Amazon River |
Andy J. Danylchuk Professor, Environmental Conservation |
Fish conservation, recreational fisheries, sustainable aquaculture |
Kristen M. DeAngelis Professor, Microbiology |
Community ecology and physiology of soil microbes, climate change, plant-soil interactions |
Graziella V. DiRenzo Adjunct Assistant Professor, Environmental Conservation Assistant Unit Leader, USGS Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research |
Quantitative ecology, population dynamics, applied ecology |
Robert L. Dorit Professor of Biological Sciences, Smith College |
Molecular evolution; comparative & statistical approaches to molecular & genome evolution |
Joseph S. Elkinton Professor, Environmental Conservation |
Population dynamics and biological control of invasive forest insects |
Jenn Fair Research Hydrologist, USGS Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center |
|
Laura Figueroa Assistant Professor, Environmental Conservation |
Agroecology, applied ecology, pollinator health, invertebrate monitoring |
John Finn Professor Emeritus, Environmental Conservation |
Network Analysis of Acoustic Telemetry |
Lillian Fritz–Laylin Associate Professor, Biology |
Quantitative Evolutionary Cell Biology |
Alexander R. Gerson Associate Professor, Biology |
Integrative ecological physiology of birds, energetics, water balance, bird migration |
John G. Gibbons Associate Professor, Food Science |
Genomics, Evolution, Bioinformatics |
Cynthia Gill Associate Professor of Physiology, Hampshire College |
Human and comparative physiology, neuroscience, endocrinology, herpetology, conservation biology, and behavioral biology |
Gary B. Gillis Professor of Biological Sciences, Mt. Holyoke College |
Biomechanics and neuromuscular control of vertebrate locomotion |
Barry Goodell Professor, Microbiology |
Fungal biochemical mechanisms involved in human disease, and also involved in the degradation of lignocellulose biomass and xenobiotics |
Steven Goodwin Professor, Microbiology |
|
Curtice R. Griffin Professor, Environmental Conservation |
Wildlife ecology and conservation |
Alex Haro Adjunct Assistant Professor, Environmental Conservation Research Ecologist and Section Leader, USGS Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center |
Fish behavior and migration; fish passage |
Rachel Hestrin Assistant Professor, Stockbridge School of Agriculture |
Plant-microbe interactions, biogeochemistry, ecosystem response to change, sustainable agriculture |
Brigitte M. Holt Professor, Anthropology |
Biocultural evolution of the genus Homo, functional morphology and biomechanics of the appendicular skeleton, paleoecology, forager ecology, Old World prehistory, Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene ecology, bone mass and physical activity. |
Michael Hood Professor of Biology, Amherst College |
Evolutionary forces that shape systems of inheritance and disease transmission |
Martha Hoopes Professor of Biological Sciences, Mt. Holyoke College |
Spread dynamics, impacts, and lag times in invasion ecology, as well as metacommunity dynamics, particularly for plants and herbivores. |
Peter W. Houlihan Senior Lecturer II, Biology |
Animal Behavior, Vertebrate Ecology, and Conservation Biology |
Duncan J. Irschick Professor, Biology |
Functional Morphology, Evolution, and Behavioral Ecology |
Elizabeth M. Jakob Professor, Biology |
Animal behavior, especially perception, learning, and social behavior |
Abigail Jensen Associate Professor, Biology |
Molecular and cellular mechanisms of vertebrate retinal development and retinal disease. |
Norman A. Johnson Adjunct Research Assistant Professor, Biology |
Evolutionary genetics, evolution of development |
Adrian Jordaan Associate Professor, Environmental Conservation |
Ecosystems, modeling, tagging, movement, trophic dynamics, diadromous, marine, |
Jason M. Kamilar Professor, Anthropology |
Comparative biology of primates and other mammals |
Ilia Karatsoreos Associate Professor, Psychological and Brain Sciences |
The general research objective in our lab is to understand the neural and physiological systems that the brain and body use to protect us from harm and adapt to changes in the environment. We focus on biological rhythms, stress, immunology, and metabolism |
Rolf O. Karlstrom Professor, Biology |
Developmental neurobiology; axon guidance and forebrain patterning |
Laura A. Katz Professor of Biological Sciences, Smith College |
Genome evolution and biodiversity studies of microbial eukaryotes |
Paul S. Katz Professor, Biology |
Neuroethology, central pattern generators, single neuron RNA-seq, developmental neuroscience, evolution of neural circuits, molluscan systems
|
Ashley D. Keiser Assistant Professor, Stockbridge School of Agriculture |
Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology; Climate Change Biology; Soil Ecology; Biogeochemistry |
Diane A. Kelly Senior Research Fellow, Psychological and Brain Sciences |
Neurobiology, biomechanics, and evolution of reproductive systems. |
Jane Kent Professor, Kinesiology |
Quantifying age, gender, and activity based changes in human skeletal muscle function. Measuring the roles of neural activation, intramuscular metabolism, contractile function and blood flow in the development of muscle fatigue in a variety of populations. |
David King Adjunct Associate Professor, Environmental Conservation Research Wildlife Biologist, USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station |
Wildlife ecology and conservation |
Lisa Komoroske Assistant Professor, Environmental Conservation |
Conservation genomics and ecophysiology in marine and freshwater ecosystems |
Michael L. Lavine Professor Emeritus, Mathematics and Statistics |
Statistical Theory and Methods |
R. Mark Leckie Professor, Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences |
Micropaleontology, Biostratigraphy, Paleoceanography |
Susannah B. Lerman Adjunct Research Professor, Environmental Conservation |
Urban and suburban ecology, wildlife conservation, and citizen science |
Benjamin Letcher Adjunct Associate Professor, Environmental Conservation Section Leader, USGS Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center |
Population ecology of stream fishes |
Rachel A. Levin Senior Lecturer in Biology and Environmental Studies, Amherst College |
Plant systematics, biogeography and ecology |
Li–Jun Ma Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology |
Fungal comparative genomics, eukaryotic genome evolution and organism adaptation |
Meghan Graham MacLean Lecturer, Environmental Conservation |
Aboveground carbon consequences of future land use in New England, Carbon accounting of timber from current harvest trends in Massachusetts, Modeling direct and indirect impacts of forest insects and pathogens, and Inclusive pedagogy in quantitative undergraduate biology |
Stephen D. McCormick Adjunct Professor, Biology Adjunct Professor, Environmental Conservation Scientist Emeritus, USGS Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center |
Environmental Physiology of Fish |
Jill Miller Professor of Biology, Amherst College |
Ecology and evolution of plant reproductive systems, molecular phylogenetic systematics, population and evolutionary genetics, hybridization and speciation |
Toni Lyn Morelli Adjunct Assistant Professor, Environmental Conservation Research Ecologist, USGS |
Climate change ecology, montane and boreal wildlife, and decision analysis and translational ecology for climate adaptation |
Keith H. Nislow Adjunct Associate Professor, Environmental Conservation Research Fishery Biologist, USDA Forest Service |
Ecology and conservation biology of stream fishes and invertebrates |
Benjamin Normark Professor, Biology |
Evolution of alternative genetic systems; evolution of host range; scale insect systematics |
Melinda Novak Professor Emerita, Psychological and Brain Sciences |
Behavior of microtines and primates |
Klaus Nüsslein Professor, Microbiology |
Microbial ecology of terrestrial and aquatic environments |
Sarah Partan Associate Professor of Animal Behavior, Hampshire College |
Visual and acoustic communication in mammals |
Jeffrey E. Podos Professor, Biology |
Mechanisms and evolution of vertebrate behavior, bioacoustics |
Adam H. Porter Associate Professor, Biology |
Evolutionary biology; hybridization, introgression & speciation; ecological genetics; evolution of regulatory genetic pathways; computer and mathematical modeling; invasion and range expansion; insects, especially butterflies and moths |
Stan P. Rachootin Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences, Mt. Holyoke College |
Evolution and development, history of evolutionary theory |
Luke Remage–Healey Professor, Psychological and Brain Sciences |
Neural basis of behavior |
Stephen Rich Professor, Microbiology |
Molecular Evolution and Population Genomics of Arthropod-borne Microbial Pathogens |
Alan M. Richmond Retired Senior Lecturer, Biology Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles, Natural History Collections |
Phylogeography of New England amphibians and reptiles |
Allison H. Roy Research Associate Professor, Environmental Conservation |
Freshwater ecology, fish and macroinvertebrates, urban ecology, conservation |
Laela Sayigh Associate Professor of Animal Behavior, Hampshire College |
Social behavior and communication of cetaceans (whales and dolphins) |
Tristram Seidler Extension Assistant Professor, Biology |
Plant ecology, plant diversity, invasive plants, climate change |
David A. Sela Associate Professor, Food Science |
Nutrition, human milk, gut microbiome, systems biology, host-microbe interactions/co-evolution, translational research |
Nathan Senner Assistant Professor, Environmental Conservation |
|
Lynnette Sievert Professor, Anthropology |
Evolution of menopause |
Paul R Sievert Adjunct Associate Professor, Environmental Conservation |
Conservation biology, physiological ecology and biostatistics |
L. David Smith Professor of Biological Sciences, Smith College |
Ecology and evolution of marine predator-prey interactions |
Allison Snow Adjunct Professor, Biology |
|
Maria Stager Assistant Professor, Biology |
|
Michelle Staudinger Adjunct Assistant Professor, Environmental Conservation Ecologist, USGS |
Climate change impacts on coastal biodiversity and trophic relationships |
Kristina Stinson Associate Professor, Environmental Conservation |
Plant Ecology, Invasive Plants, Biological Responses to Global Change |
John Stoffolano Professor, Stockbridge School of Agriculture |
Behavior and physiology of flies especially of the adult crop organ and the mechanisms regulating filling and depletion |
Alexander Suvorov Associate Professor, Environmental Health Sciences |
Effects on behavior by environmental xenobiotics with endocrine disruptive properties |
Ethan J. Temeles Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies, Amherst College |
Foraging behavior; Territoriality; Intra- and Interspecific competition; Resource partitioning; Mutualism; Coevolution; |
Elsbeth Walker Professor, Biology |
Molecular genetic approaches to studying mechanisms of metal ion homeostasis in plants |
Paige S. Warren Professor, Environmental Conservation |
Urban ecology, human-environment interactions, animal behavior |
Tammy L. Wilson Research Assistant Professor, Environmental Conservation Unit Leader, USGS Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research |
Landscape ecology, spatial ecology, wildlife conservation and management, structured decision-making |