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College of Biological Sciences

CBS experts guide

Note to media: if you would like to speak to an expert in an area of biological sciences not listed below, contact Peggy Rinard, communications director, at 612-624-0774 or rinar001@umn.edu.

UM News Service contact: Mark Cassutt, 612-624-8038.

Aging research

Current topics and issues in aging research

Huber Warner, associate dean for research, professor, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, 612-625-1839, warne033@umn.edu

Genetics of aging

James Curtsinger, professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-624-6746, jwcurt@umn.edu

Agricultural research

The Department of Plant Biology conducts a variety of federally funded research to make crop plants more productive and more resistant to disease, pests, and temperature extremes.

Soybeans, alfalfa, and other legumes [the ability of legumes to provide their own nitrogen]

Kate Vandenbosch, professor and head, Plant Biology, 612-625-1234, vande102@umn.edu

Plant disease resistance

Fumi Katagiri, associate professor, plant disease resistance, Plant Biology, 612-624-5195, katagiri@umn.edu

Jane Glazebrook, associate professor, Plant Biology, 612-624-5194, jglazebr@umn.edu

Corn genomics

Nathan Springer, assistant professor, Plant Biology, 612-624-6241, springer@umn.edu

Animal behavior

Family and social behavior of lions

Craig Packer, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-625-5729, packer@umn.edu

Family and social behavior of chimpanzees

Anne Pusey, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-625-5727, pusey001@umn.edu

Autoimmune diseases

[myasthenia gravis] Bianca Conti-Fine, 612-624-6796, conti001@umn.edu

Biodale

Biotechnology Resource Center

Marc von Keitz, program director, 612-624-6758, vonkeitz@umn.edu

Imaging Center (microscopy)

Mark Sanders, program director, 612-624-3454, msanders@umn.edu

Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics

Thomas Krick, program director, 612-624-7715, krick001@umn.edu

Biodiversity

David Tilman, McKnight Presidential Chair and Regents Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-625-5740, tilman@umn.edu

Ruth Shaw, professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-624-7206, shawx016@umn.edu

Biofuels

Overview & FAQs

Richard Hemmingsen, director, Initiative for Energy and the Environment (IREE), 612-625-2263, hemmings@umn.edu

Todd Reubold, director of communications and public affairs, Institute on the Environment, 612-624-6140, reub0002@umn.edu

Ted Davis, BioTechnology Institute, 612-625-4088, htdavis@umn.edu

Marc von Keitz, BioTechnology Institute, 612-624-6758, vonkeitz@umn.edu

Biodiesel fuel made from soybeans

Sue Gibson, associate professor of plant biology, 612-624-7408, gibso043@umn.edu

Microbial Fuel Cells

Daniel Bond, assistant professor, BioTechnology Institute, 612-624-8619, dbond@umn.edu

Petroleum Fuels in Real-Time from Renewable Resources

Larry Wackett, McKnight University Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry, wacke003@umn.edu

Bioplastics

Friedrich Srienc, professor, BioTechnology Institute, 612-624-9776, srienc@umn.edu

Bioremediation

[Use of microbial organisms to clean up the environment]

Lawrence Wackett, Distinguished McKnight University Professor and head, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, 612-625-3785, wacke003@umn.edu

Biotechnology industry

Robert Elde, dean, 612-624-0774 or 612-624-2244, elde@umn.edu

Marc von Keitz, BioTechnology Institute, 612-624-6758, vonkeitz@umn.edu

Blood coagulation diseases

[proteins that prevent or cause blood clotting in hemophilia, thrombosis, and sepsis; new therapies for these conditions]

Gary Nelsestuan, 612-624-3622, nelse002@umn.edu

Cancer biology

Robert McKinnell, professor emeritus, Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, 612-626 6881 or 612-624-2285, mckin002@umn.edu

Carbon cycling

Sarah Hobbie, associate professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-625-6269, shobbie@umn.edu

Cloning

Robert McKinnell, professor emeritus, Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, 612-626 6881 or 612-624-2285, mckin002@umn.edu

Diabetes and metabolism

David Bernlohr, McKnight Distinguished University Professor and head, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, 612-624-2712, bernl001@umn.edu

Ecology

Jeannine Cavender-Bares, assistant professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-624-6337, cavender@umn.edu

Bob Sterner, professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-625-6790, stern007@umn.edu

Ecology of disease

Craig Packer, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-625-5729, packe001@umn.edu

Susan Jones, associate professor, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior and History of Science and Technology, jone0996@umn.edu

Energy

[Renewable energy, conservation and efficiency, public policy]

Todd Reubold, director of communications and public affairs, Institute on the Environment, 612-624-6140, reub0002@umn.edu

Richard Hemmingsen, director, Initiative for Energy and the Environment (IREE), 612-625-2263, hemmings@umn.edu

Robert Elde, dean, 612-624-0774 or 612-624-2244, elde@umn.edu

Evolution, teaching in schools

Mark Borrello, assistant professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-624-7079, borrello@umn.edu

Scott Lanyon, head, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-624-6291, lanyo001@umn.edu

Evolutionary biology

Mark Borrello, assistant professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-624-7079, borrello@umn.edu

Peter Tiffin, assistant professor, Plant Biology, 612-624-7406, ptiffin@umn.edu

George Weiblen, Packard Fellow, assistant professor, Plant Biology, 612-624-3461, gweiblen@umn.edu

Endangered species

Anne Pusey, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-625-5727, pusey001@umn.edu

Craig Packer, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-625-5729, packe001@umn.edu

Sharon Jansa, assistant professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior; Curator of Mammals, Bell Museum of Natural History, 612-624-6293, jansa003@umn.edu

Environmental cleanup

Lawrence Wackett, Distinguished McKnight University Professor and head, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, 612-625-3785, wacke003@umn.edu

Frogs

Robert McKinnell, professor emeritus, Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, 612-626 6881 or 612-624-2285, mckin002@umn.edu

Genetics

Michael Simmons, professor, Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, 612-624-5354, simmo004@umn.edu

Genetic counseling

Bonnie LeRoy, associate professor, Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, 612-624-7193, leroy001@umn.edu

Genetically modified organisms (GMOS)

Kate VandenBosch, professor and head, Plant Biology, 612-624-2755, vande102@tc.umn.edu

Jane Glazebrook, associate professor, Plant Biology, 612-624-5194, jglazebr@umn.edu

Genomics

Human

Judy Berman, professor of genetics, cell biology, and development, 612-625-1971, berma003@umn.edu

Plant

Kate VandenBosch, professor and head, Plant Biology, 612-624-2755, vande102@tc.umn.edu

Microbial

Lawrence Wackett, Distinguished McKnight University Professor and head, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, 612-625-3785, wacke003@umn.edu

Graduate education

Huber Warner, associate dean for research and professor, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, 612-625-1839, warne033@umn.edu

Human genetics and development

Michael O'Connor, Ordway Chair in Developmental Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, 612-626-0642, moconnor@umn.edu

Human impact on global ecosystems

Fossil fuels and increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

David Tilman, McKnight Presidential Chair and Regents Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-625-5740, tilman@umn.edu

Sarah Hobbie, associate professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-625-6269, shobbie@umn.edu

Ozone depletion and increased ultra-violet radiation

James Cotner, associate professor, impact on aquatic ecosystems, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-625-1706, cotne002@umn.edu

Nitrogen fertilizers and global biodiversity

David Tilman, McKnight Presidential Chair and Regents Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-625-5740, tilman@umn.edu

Invasive species

Invasive species in lakes

Robert Sterner, professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-625-6790, stern007@umn.edu

Invasive plants in prairies

Diane Larson, adjunct professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-625-9271, dllarson@.umn.edu

Lake ecology

Lake Superior and other Minnesota lakes

Robert Sterner, professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-625-6790, stern007@umn.edu

James Cotner, associate professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, and Moos Chair in Limnology, 612-625-1706, cotne002@umn.edu

Ornithology and bird-watching

Bob Zink, professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-624-7207, zinkx003@umn.edu

Minnesota native plants

David Biesboer, professor, Plant Biology; director, Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories, 612-625-1799, biesboer@umn.edu

Mushrooms

[Evolution and biodiversity]

David McLaughlin, professor of plant biology, Bell Museum Curator of Fungi, 612-625-1738, davem@umn.edu

Prairie plants and ecology

Ruth Shaw, professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-624-7206, shawx016@umn.edu

Proteomics

[Study of proteins produced by an organism’s genome and the role of those proteins in health and disease]

David Bernlohr, McKnight University Distinguished Professor and head, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, 612-624-2712, bernl001@umn.edu

Timothy Griffin, assistant professor, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, 612-624-5249, tgriffin@umn.edu

Gary Nelsestuen, professor, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, 612-624-3622, nelse002@umn.edu

Renewable energy

[Renewable alternatives to fossil fuels, including biomass, hydrogen, wind, solar forms of energy.]

Todd Reubold, director of communications and public affairs, Institute on the Environment, 612-624-6140, reub0002@umn.edu

Richard Hemmingsen, director, Initiative for Energy and the Environment (IREE), 612-625-2263, hemmings@umn.edu

Robert Elde, dean, 612-624-0774 or 612-624-2244, elde@umn.edu

Mud batteries: generating electricity from common bacteria found in mud

Daniel Bond, assistant professor, BioTechnology Institute, 612-624-8619, dbond@umn.edu

Science education

K-12 science education

Ken Jeddeloh, Science Education Project for Greater Minnesota, 612-624-6571, jedde001@umn.edu

Undergraduate biology curriculum

Robin Wright, associate dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs, 612-624-2244 or 612-625-1183, wrightr@umn.edu

Tropical rain forests

George Weiblen, Packard Fellow, assistant professor, Plant Biology, 612-624-3461, gweiblen@umn.edu

Tropical dry forest

Jeannine Cavender-Bares, assistant professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-624-6337, cavender@umn.edu

University Enterprise Laboratories (UEL)

Robert Elde, dean, 612-624-0774 or 612-624-2244, elde@umn.edu

Zoonotic diseases

[Transmission of infectious diseases from animals to humans]

Craig Packer, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 612-625-5729, packer@umn.edu

Directory of faculty experts by department

Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics

Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior

Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development

Department of Plant Biology

BioTechnology Institute