̽����Ƶ

Katherine Taylor
Assistant Professor
I use big genomic data and computational approaches to better understand insect evolution in agroecosystems. My projects focus on basic questions in evolutionary biology and often provide insight into the sustainable management of crop pests. I study genome evolution in the corn earworm, a major crop pest, and green lacewings, a group of beneficial insects. My work on crop pests has focused on understanding the genomic basis of rapid resistance evolution and developing new genomic approaches to monitor for emerging resistance. My projects on green lacewings have primarily focused on their evolution and species-specific mating songs. Overall, my research aims to describe how insect genomes are shaped by evolutionary processes, complex trait genomics, and rapid evolution.

Phone: 516-463-5528
Office: Room 103 Gittleson Hall
Email |

Russell Burke
Professor
I am interested in the ecology, evolution, and conservation biology of vertebrates, mostly reptiles and mammals. Most of the species I study are either introduced species or rare species, thus population control (either up or down) is important to me. And because a lot of my field work takes place in the urban and suburban habitats of New York City and Long Island, you could call it Urban Ecology. Currently, my major research projects involve diamondback terrapins at Jamaica Bay, wood turtles in northern New Jersey, the coyote invasion of Long Island and its community ecology implications, the ecology of Lyme Disease, and interesting new ways to census vertebrates.

Phone: (516) 463-7272
Office: Room 128 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Peter Daniel
Professor
For much of my academic career I have researched how chemosensory stimuli drives behaviors in decapod crustaceans including crabs and lobsters. More recently my lab has been researching how animals without a central nervous system (starfish) are capable of performing directed behaviors such as righting behavior. We have also been studying the distribution of native and invasive crayfish on Long Island with a goal of understanding behavioral and ecological interactions between invasive and native species. Finally I am interested in the behavioral and ecology of brook trout on Long Island. This species were the only native salmonids on Long Island until they virtually disappeared from the area in the last century. In recent years there have been efforts to reintroduce the species. I have received a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to study the movements of juvenile brook trout in a habitat that hosts one of the few spawning populations on Long Island.

Phone: (516) 463-6718
Office: Room 10 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Lisa Filippi
Professor
I am interested in elucidating the ecological constraints that favor the evolution of complex parental-care behaviors. My model organisms include several subsocial heteropteran insects. Parental care beyond laying eggs in an appropriate substrate is very rare in insects outside the two truly social orders that include bees, wasps, ants, and termites. The species I work with display extended parental care that includes a variety of complex behaviors, ranging from guarding of the egg mass in a burrow to producing trophic eggs (unfertilized eggs that newly hatched offspring can feed on) and repeatedly transporting food from the host-tree area to the nest for the young. Manipulation studies in the field and the laboratory are used to evaluate the impact of a variety of ecological conditions on the manifestation of these behaviors. With the establishment of a coyote population on Long Island imminent, Dr. Filippi looks forward to carrying out future studies on parental care behaviors on these ‘coywolves,' which should be a blend of coyote and wolf behaviors. Dr. Filippi and her students will engage in pre-establishment education/advocacy on Long Island.

Phone: (516) 463-5831
Office: Room 302 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Javier Izquierdo
Professor
Research in my lab focuses on exploring the metabolic diversity of microbial processes and the applications we can derive from them. We utilize cross-disciplinary approaches incorporating microbiological, ecological, evolutionary, molecular and genomic techniques to 1) understand the contributions of plant microbiomes to the health of their plant host and 2) discover novel microbial processes for the sustainable production of biofuels and bioproducts from agricultural wastes.

Phone: (516) 463-4784
Office: Room 317 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Maureen Krause
Professor and Chair
I'm interested in the link between genetic variation and protein function from an evolutionary perspective. My research focuses on molecular and biochemical adaptations of marine invertebrates to environmental stress, including hypoxia and immune challenge. Our studies of bay scallops are focused on determining how genetic variation relates to biochemical and ultimately physiological differences in energy metabolism, including whether certain genetic variants confer greater survival during hypoxia or during burst swimming. In addition, we are interested in discovering mechanisms of innate immune defense in bivalve molluscs, which are susceptible numerous diseases. Finally, my lab collaborates with other Biology faculty on conservation and ecological genetics projects that use molecular markers to characterize genetic variation.

Phone: (516) 463-6178
Office: Room 132 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Steve Raciti
Associate Professor and Graduate Director
I study the interactions between plants, soils, and ecosystem processes in context of urbanization and global environmental change.  The goal of this work is to increase our understanding of how human activities influence ecosystems, while simultaneously driving the development of tools that can inform policy and management decisions.  One branch of this work examines the role of plants and soils in mediating air and water quality.  Another branch explores how urbanization drives changes to ecosystem processes (such as carbon and nitrogen cycling) and the consequences at local-to-global scales.  And yet another branch focuses on the fate of natural and semi-natural ecosystems embedded within urban and suburban areas. 

Phone: (516) 463-6001
Office: Room 225 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Nicholas Santangelo
Professor
My research goals are to understand the ecological and physiological constraints that underlie animal behavior. From an ecological perspective, I explore behavioral paradigms to provide functional explanations for behavior to reveal evolutionary patterns across taxa. From a physiological perspective, I manipulate and quantify hormones underlying these behaviors to explore hormone function in the context of adaptive behavior. I utilize both laboratory and field studies to explore the ecological context of behavior in fish and other aquatic systems. My field and ecology work has also included local systems like horseshoe crabs including their spawning habits and habitat, and effects of local toxicity. My integrative approach in behavior, neurophysiology, and ecology and the use of taxa with various mating systems, both in the lab and field, provides research opportunities for students with a wide variety of interests and career goals.

Phone: (516) 463-7394
Office: Room 108 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Luciana Santoferrara
Associate Professor
Research in my lab focuses on the biodiversity of protists in marine plankton, and how these and other microorganisms interact with environmental changes. We are currently working on two research lines: 1) integration of genetic, morphological and functional signatures in analyses of ciliated protists across space and time, and 2) microbial communities under low-oxygen waters in Long Island Sound.

Phone: 516-463-8510
Office: Room 326 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Ron Sarno
Professor
I consider myself to be an ecologist who integrates molecular ecology, behavioral ecology, evolution, and population biology to address fundamental questions at the interface of ecology and conservation of vertebrates. I combine field observations, field experiments, modeling techniques, and laboratory analyses to answer specific questions at the organismal, population, and species level. Much of my research has focused on the population ecology, evolution, and behavior of mammals, primarily ungulates, due to my interest in how genetic polymorphism is maintained in natural populations as influenced by mating system, social behavior, and population dynamics. Although much of my research has revolved around the wild South American camelids, I am not restricted to the study of any one taxon. Rather, I strive to ask interesting and relevant questions regarding conservation, ecology, and evolution.

Phone: (516) 463-4266
Office: Room 228 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Jason Williams
Donald E. Axinn Distinguished Professor in Ecology and Conservation
Research in my lab is focused on exploring the biology of marine invertebrates. I am particularly interested in symbioses between crustacean hosts and their associates (including parasitic isopods, barnacles, and polychaete worms). In addition, my students and I investigate parasitic flatworms (trematodes) and their impacts on marine hosts. My research spans field work and taxonomic studies in order to expand our knowledge of the biodiversity and natural history of these parasite groups.

Phone: (516) 463-5524
Office: Room 218 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Matthew Fisher
Assistant Professor
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, and develops from mucosal epithelium in the mouth, nose and throat. These cancers are generally treated with surgical resection, followed by radiation or chemotherapy. However, roughly 50% of patients experience local disease recurrence following treatment, and 30% develop metastatic disease. Because of this, there is a dire need for better therapeutic options for these patients. My lab focuses on how epigenetic modifiers regulate crosstalk between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment to facilitate HNSCC progression. This work makes use of genetic and biochemical approaches to identify novel therapeutic targets and gain deeper insights into the underlying molecular mechanisms of this deadly disease.

Phone: 516-463-7718
Office: Room 301 Gittleson Hall
Email | Bio

Michael Shahandeh
Assistant Professor
The behaviors of closely related species can be remarkably different, and these differences can have important biological consequences. For example, behaviors can be critical to the creation and maintenance of biodiversity, as host, habitat, and mating preference behaviors are often key players in speciation and local adaptation. Despite the importance of behavioral traits, we know little about the genetic and neurological basis of their evolution. This means we have little understanding of the number, type, or cellular effects of mutations resulting in behavioral divergence. These data are important to understanding the tempo and mode of behavioral evolution. To fill this gap, my research seeks to answer the following: (1) what are the genetic loci of behavioral divergence? (2) how do genetic changes affect nervous system structure or function? (3) how do the selective pressures that drive behavioral evolution shape genetic and neuronal architecture? and (4), what are the mechanisms through which animals plastically adjust their behaviors in response to environmental variation?

Phone: 516-463-5552
Office: Room 306D Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Dafang (Faith) Wang
Assistant Professor
Transposons, also known as "jumping genes", occupy a large fraction of many eukaryotic genomes. The long-term goal of my lab is to study how genomes efficiently silence active transposons and maintain the silencing state of transposons for the genome stability. My lab uses maize as the model system to monitor the activity of transposons to study various epigenetic pathways of silencing. We use transmission genetics, molecular genetics, and sequencing technologies in our projects.

Phone: 516-463-6719
Office: Room 309A Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Jason Williams
Donald E. Axinn Distinguished Professor in Ecology and Conservation
Research in my lab is focused on exploring the biology of marine invertebrates. I am particularly interested in symbioses between crustacean hosts and their associates (including parasitic isopods, barnacles, and polychaete worms). In addition, my students and I investigate parasitic flatworms (trematodes) and their impacts on marine hosts. My research spans field work and taxonomic studies in order to expand our knowledge of the biodiversity and natural history of these parasite groups.

Phone: (516) 463-5524
Office: Room 218 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Luciana Santoferrara
Associate Professor
Research in my lab focuses on the biodiversity of protists in marine plankton, and how these and other microorganisms interact with environmental changes. We are currently working on two research lines: 1) integration of genetic, morphological and functional signatures in analyses of ciliated protists across space and time, and 2) microbial communities under low-oxygen waters in Long Island Sound.

Phone: 516-463-8510
Office: Room 326 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Nicholas Santangelo
Professor
My research goals are to understand the ecological and physiological constraints that underlie animal behavior. From an ecological perspective, I explore behavioral paradigms to provide functional explanations for behavior to reveal evolutionary patterns across taxa. From a physiological perspective, I manipulate and quantify hormones underlying these behaviors to explore hormone function in the context of adaptive behavior. I utilize both laboratory and field studies to explore the ecological context of behavior in fish and other aquatic systems. My field and ecology work has also included local systems like horseshoe crabs including their spawning habits and habitat, and effects of local toxicity. My integrative approach in behavior, neurophysiology, and ecology and the use of taxa with various mating systems, both in the lab and field, provides research opportunities for students with a wide variety of interests and career goals.

Phone: (516) 463-7394
Office: Room 108 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Maureen Krause
Professor and Chair
I'm interested in the link between genetic variation and protein function from an evolutionary perspective. My research focuses on molecular and biochemical adaptations of marine invertebrates to environmental stress, including hypoxia and immune challenge. Our studies of bay scallops are focused on determining how genetic variation relates to biochemical and ultimately physiological differences in energy metabolism, including whether certain genetic variants confer greater survival during hypoxia or during burst swimming. In addition, we are interested in discovering mechanisms of innate immune defense in bivalve molluscs, which are susceptible numerous diseases. Finally, my lab collaborates with other Biology faculty on conservation and ecological genetics projects that use molecular markers to characterize genetic variation.

Phone: (516) 463-6178
Office: Room 132 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Michael Dores
Associate Professor
I study the regulation of G protein-coupled receptor signaling by endosomal sorting and lysosomal degradation in cancer and vascular cells. My lab uses advanced genomic editing, microscopy and tissue culture techniques to investigate the mechanisms and proteins that facilitate GPCR signaling as well as extracellular vesicle formation.

Phone: (516) 463-5273
Office: Room 306D Gittleson Hall
Email | Bio

Javier Izquierdo
Professor
Research in my lab focuses on exploring the metabolic diversity of microbial processes and the applications we can derive from them. We utilize cross-disciplinary approaches incorporating microbiological, ecological, evolutionary, molecular and genomic techniques to 1) understand the contributions of plant microbiomes to the health of their plant host and 2) discover novel microbial processes for the sustainable production of biofuels and bioproducts from agricultural wastes.

Phone: (516) 463-4784
Office: Room 317 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Maureen Krause
Chair and Professor 
I'm interested in the link between genetic variation and protein function from an evolutionary perspective.    My research focuses on molecular and biochemical adaptations of marine invertebrates to environmental stress, including hypoxia and immune challenge.  Our studies of bay scallops are focused on determining how genetic variation relates to biochemical and ultimately physiological differences in energy metabolism, including whether certain genetic variants confer greater survival during hypoxia or during burst swimming.  In addition, we are interested in discovering mechanisms of innate immune defense in bivalve molluscs, which are susceptible numerous diseases.  Finally, my lab collaborates with other Biology faculty on conservation and ecological genetics projects that use molecular markers to characterize genetic variation.

Phone: (516) 463-6178
Office: Room 132 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Brittany Miller
Assistant Professor
Research in my lab examines function and regulation the of molecular machines which contribute to cellular asymmetry and polarity in a process known as polarized exocytosis. One of the more dramatic examples of cellular asymmetry is a neuron; however, all eukaryotic cells use conserved pathways to deliver vesicles to discrete subcellular compartments. Our major projects make use of a suite of genetic, cell biological, and biochemical tools available in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (the same one you can use to bake bread or brew beer) to study plasma membrane targeting events and more specifically a major tethering protein complex called the exocyst. Our lab is interested in uncovering the mechanistic details of exocyst regulation to improve our understanding of how specificity is maintained in such a complicated cellular environment, and how errors in trafficking can give rise to disease and tumorigenesis.

Phone: 516-463-5267
Office: Room 302 Gittleson Hall
Email | Bio

Luciana Santoferrara
Associate Professor
Research in my lab focuses on the biodiversity of protists in marine plankton, and how these and other microorganisms interact with environmental changes. We are currently working on two research lines: 1) integration of genetic, morphological and functional signatures in analyses of ciliated protists across space and time, and 2) microbial communities under low-oxygen waters in Long Island Sound.

Phone: 516-463-8510
Office: Room 326 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Peter Daniel
Professor
For much of my academic career I have researched how chemosensory stimuli drives behaviors in decapod crustaceans including crabs and lobsters. More recently my lab has been researching how animals without a central nervous system (starfish) are capable of performing directed behaviors such as righting behavior. We have also been studying the distribution of native and invasive crayfish on Long Island with a goal of understanding behavioral and ecological interactions between invasive and native species. Finally I am interested in the behavioral and ecology of brook trout on Long Island. This species were the only native salmonids on Long Island until they virtually disappeared from the area in the last century. In recent years there have been efforts to reintroduce the species. I have received a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to study the movements of juvenile brook trout in a habitat that hosts one of the few spawning populations on Long Island.

Phone: (516) 463-6718
Office: Room 10 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Lisa Filippi
Professor
I am interested in elucidating the ecological constraints that favor the evolution of complex parental-care behaviors. My model organisms include several subsocial heteropteran insects. Parental care beyond laying eggs in an appropriate substrate is very rare in insects outside the two truly social orders that include bees, wasps, ants, and termites. The species I work with display extended parental care that includes a variety of complex behaviors, ranging from guarding of the egg mass in a burrow to producing trophic eggs (unfertilized eggs that newly hatched offspring can feed on) and repeatedly transporting food from the host-tree area to the nest for the young. Manipulation studies in the field and the laboratory are used to evaluate the impact of a variety of ecological conditions on the manifestation of these behaviors. With the establishment of a coyote population on Long Island imminent, Dr. Filippi looks forward to carrying out future studies on parental care behaviors on these 'coywolves', which should be a blend of coyote and wolf behaviors. Dr. Filippi and her students will engage in pre-establishment education/advocacy on Long Island.

Phone: (516) 463-5831
Office: Room 302 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Abigail Kimmitt
Assistant Professor
How do animals cope with the challenges of changing environments? In my research, I integrate tools from endocrinology (the study of hormones), molecular biology, behavioral ecology, and evolutionary biology to explore (1) the physiological mechanisms that drive the timing of seasonal behaviors and (2) the evolutionary consequences of variation in seasonal behaviors. More specifically, I study the genomic and hormonal regulation that link two key seasonal behaviors, migration and reproduction, in songbirds. My work incorporates field studies as well as laboratory and bioinformatic techniques, providing diverse research opportunities for undergraduates.

Phone: (516) 463-5792
Office: Room 102A Gittleson Hall
Website | Bio

Nicholas Santangelo
Professor
My research goals are to understand the ecological and physiological constraints that underlie animal behavior. From an ecological perspective, I explore behavioral paradigms to provide functional explanations for behavior to reveal evolutionary patterns across taxa. From a physiological perspective, I manipulate and quantify hormones underlying these behaviors to explore hormone function in the context of adaptive behavior. I utilize both laboratory and field studies to explore the ecological context of behavior in fish and other aquatic systems. My field and ecology work has also included local systems like horseshoe crabs including their spawning habits and habitat, and effects of local toxicity. My integrative approach in behavior, neurophysiology, and ecology and the use of taxa with various mating systems, both in the lab and field, provides research opportunities for students with a wide variety of interests and career goals.

Phone: (516) 463-7394
Office: Room 109 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Ron Sarno
Professor
I consider myself to be an ecologist who integrates molecular ecology, behavioral ecology, evolution, and population biology to address fundamental questions at the interface of ecology and conservation of vertebrates. I combine field observations, field experiments, modeling techniques, and laboratory analyses to answer specific questions at the organismal, population, and species level. Much of my research has focused on the population ecology, evolution, and behavior of mammals, primarily ungulates, due to my interest in how genetic polymorphism is maintained in natural populations as influenced by mating system, social behavior, and population dynamics. Although much of my research has revolved around the wild South American camelids, I am not restricted to the study of any one taxon. Rather, I strive to ask interesting and relevant questions regarding conservation, ecology, and evolution.

Phone: (516) 463-4266
Office: Room 228 Gittleson Hall
Email | | Bio

Jessica Santangelo
Professor
Discipline-based education research (DBER) is an interdisciplinary field that utilizes social science methods and discipline-specific content to advance teaching and learning. Within this context, my lab studies how students learn and effective strategies instructors can use to help them learn. I am particularly interested in the role of metacognitive skills (skills related to the knowledge and regulation of learning) in student learning and strategies to promote metacognitive skill development. The goals of my lab are to develop and/or assess strategies that increase student learning and success in STEM disciplines.

Phone: (516) 463-5517
Office: Room 128 Gittleson Hall
Email | Bio