Biology Faculty and Staff

Pamela M. Brannock

Assistant Professor

Bush Science Center, room 118B

(407) 646-2290

pbrannock@rollins.edu

B.S. Roger Williams University, 2002 
Ph.D. University of South Carolina at Columbia, 2011 

I am interested in understanding and exploring the genetic composition, connectivity, and variation of aquatic invertebrates populations (mainly marine). For my doctoral research,  I researched the geographic distribution and hybridization levels between Mytilus spp. (blue mussels) in northern Japan. More recently I have used high-throughput sequencing approaches to examine meiofaunal community composition and variation in Antarctica as well as the Gulf of Mexico in responses to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Through my research I use a variety of molecular approaches to obtain a better understanding of questions from distribution of organisms to functioning of aquatic ecosystems. I am also interested in exploring environmental factors that may cause distribution or variation within communities to occur.  

Bobby Fokidis

Associate Professor

Bush Science Center, room 312B

(407) 646-2452

hfokidis@rollins.edu

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B.S. University of Toronto,  2001
M.S. Arkansas State University,  2004
Ph.D. Arizona State University,  2010

Food security is a term we use to describe both the availability of food and the ability of an individual to access food. Food insecurity activates various endocrine systems which can impact health, and alter behaviors, such as inducing aggressive conflict over access to a limited resource. My research investigates the biological mechanisms that link an individual’s perceptions of food security, their energetic status, and their physiological and behavioral responses. Specifically the goals of my research program are to: (1) Characterize the neuroendocrine interactions between steroids and neuropeptides that integrate formation about energetic state with behavior; (2) Investigate how natural or human-induced fluctuations in food alter these neuroendocrine signals; and (3) Understand how physiological and behavioral responses to food availability have influenced the evolution of life-history traits. This novel research integrates a reductionist perspective with a broader understanding of the organism in the context of its environment, and provides a physiological basis for a topic of increasing social importance.

Sabrice Guerrier

Associate Professor

Bush Science Center, room 273

(407) 646-2340

sguerrier@rollins.edu

B.S. Long Island University-Brooklyn, 2002
Ph.D. University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, 2009

Structure dictates function is a unifying principle of biology that describes the idea that an object’s shape directly affects how it behaves. The shape of cells and organelles is partially driven by the shape of the lipid bilayer that constitute their membranes. Alterations in membrane shape and lipid composition are associated with several abnormalities including neurodegenerative disease and muscular dystrophy. But the mechanisms by which cells actively change lipid composition to promote changes in the shapes of membranes are poorly understood. To address this issue, we use the ciliate, Tetrahymena thermophila, to study the role of lipid transfer proteins in the regulation of two events during which membrane shape changes drastically: cell-cell fusion and autophagy (cell self-eating). We employ bioinformatic approaches to identify candidate proteins then use genetic, microscopy, and biochemical methods to characterize cellular behavior upon manipulating these proteins. Importantly, this work may contribute to the understanding of disease states as abnormal cell-cell fusion or autophagy are associated with defective fertilization, muscle development, and cancer progression in humans.

Fiona Harper

Professor & Marine Biology Program Coordinator

Bush Science Center, room 218C

(407) 646-2613

fharper@rollins.edu

BSc University of Guelph, 1995
MSc Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1998
Ph.D. Dalhousie University, 2004

I am a marine evolutionary biologist. I am particularly interested in how speciation in the marine environment occurs, hybridization between species, and population genetics of marine organisms. While I am continuing to investigate hybridization between two sister species of sea stars in the Northwest Atlantic (Asterias forbesi and A. rubens), I am also collaborating on a population genetics study of the white mangrove in the Caribbean. I have also worked on hybridization and population genetics studies of blue mussels and sea urchins. The type of studies I conduct range from morphological studies of live animals, to fertilization studies between sperm and eggs in vitro, to molecular studies of the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA.

Jay Pieczynski

Associate Professor, Department Chair

Bush Science Center, room 363

(407) 646-2433

jpieczynski@rollins.edu

B.S. University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, 2004
Ph.D. University of Michigan, 2010

One of the major roles of the cytoskeleton is to act as the cellular interstate system, moving cargo efficiently over long distances.  One of the most basic scientific questions is how proteins, cargos, and even the cytoskeleton itself move, change, and respond to facilitate signal transduction.  Defects in microtubule-associated cell signaling dynamics can be directly implicated in such pathologies as cancer, neurodegenerative disease, infertility, and polycystic kidney disease.  My research involves understanding the in vivo dynamics of microtubules and microtubule motor proteins in cell signaling and behavior.  Using the model system Caenorhabditis elegans, I use a combined genetic, cellular, and organismal approach to studying these processes at physiologically relevant levels in the entire organism.  

Brendaliz Santiago-Narvaez

Associate Professor

Bush Science Center, room 369

(407) 646-2430

bsantiagonarvaez@rollins.edu

B.S. University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, 2006
M.S. University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 2010
Ph.D. University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 2012 

I’m a Microbiologist whose work focuses in the area of Oral Microbiology.  We have more than 700 bacterial species in our mouth! Out of all of them, I study the etiological agent of human dental caries, Streptococcus mutans. S. mutans can form a thick acidic biofilm on the tooth surface, known as dental plaque. Its acid tolerance and biofilm formation are major virulence properties that enable it to colonize the oral cavity, even under fluctuating conditions (feast-famine!).  This is, in part, the reason why we get cavities!

 In my lab we screen novel compounds for their ability to kill or inhibit the growth of S. mutans. We look at how these compounds inhibit or possibly prevent the formation of Biofilms using in- vitro assays.  These antimicrobial assays help us determine the mode of action and the concentrations at which these compounds are most effective.  By studying compounds that target S. mutans’   we can better develop ways to limit its growth and colonization in the oral cavity.

 Other areas of interest in my research include the study of microorganisms found in unique locations like paintings and or living organisms!

Paul T. Stephenson

Associate Professor

Bush Science Center, room 214B

(407) 646-2481

pstephenson@rollins.edu

B.A.  Hartwick College, 1984
M.S. Johns Hopkins University, 1992
Ph.D. University of Massachusetts-Amherst, 1998

My current research interests include investigating the regulation of hydrolytic enzyme secretion in carnivorous pitcher plants (particularly Nepenthes ventricosa), cloning and characterizing candidate enzymes, using fluorescent in situ hybridization to identify their presence in specific tissues, and Real Time PCR to assess their expression.  In 2007 I began a new research project investigating hydrolytic enzymes involved in mixotrophic metabolism of toxic, algal bloom causing dinoflagellates.  Most recently I have begun a population genetics study of White Mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa).  In the past I have worked on projects studying programmed cell death during floral senescence and vascular tissue differentiation.

Kathryn P. Sutherland

Professor

Bush Science Center, room 114A

(407) 691-1075

kpsutherland@rollins.edu

B.A. Wellesley College, 1994
M.S. University of Georgia, 1997
Ph.D. University of Georgia, 2003

I am a coral reef ecologist and a coral disease microbiologist.   I specialize in both field identification and laboratory investigation of coral disease. As a field biologist, I monitor reefs for change in coral cover over time and I assess coral health through quantification of coral disease prevalence.  In the laboratory I am investigating the prevalence and origin of the pathogen, the bacterium Serratia marcescens, that causes the white pox disease of the Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata. White pox disease has contributed to the decimation of this coral species in Florida, with losses averaging 87% since 1996. I am also interested in the identification of other coral disease pathogens and the mechanisms of pathogenesis of these pathogens.