Faculty & Staff
Meet Our Team
Brian S. Arbogast
Professor: Conservation Biology | Graduate Faculty
I study the conservation and biogeography of terrestrial vertebrates. Research in my lab often combines fieldwork and molecular genetic studies to investigate ecological, evolutionary and conservation questions.
Dr. Arbogast | Arbogast Lab | Wildsumaco Biological Station
Friday Hall 2061
910.962.2644
arbogastb@uncw.edu
Stuart R. Borrett
Associate Provost for Research and Innovation & Professor: Quantitative Ecology
| Graduate Faculty
Borrett Lab | Google Scholar
Alderman Hall 110C
910.962.2411
borretts@uncw.edu
Christian Briseño-Avena
Assistant Professor| Graduate Faculty
I use multi-prong approaches to understand how and why plankton assemblages change temporally and spatially.
Center for Marine Science 2337
910.962.2373
brisenoavenac@uncw.edu
Julia C. Buck
Assistant Professor: Disease Ecology | Graduate Faculty
My research program in disease ecology explores the population-, community-, and ecosystem-level consequences of parasites in coastal systems. My research projects cut across taxonomic boundaries and employ empirical approaches, observational studies, and mathematical modeling.
Center for Marine Science 2330
910.962.2875
buckj@uncw.edu
Lawrence B. Cahoon
Professor: Biological Oceanography | Graduate Faculty
I am a biological oceanographer and limnologist. My basic research interests include primary production, grazing, and nutrient dynamics, and my applied research interests include various aspects of water quality analysis and remediation.
Friday Hall 1051
910.962.3706
cahoon@uncw.edu
Joseph A. Covi
Associate Professor: Integrative and Comparative Biology | Graduate Faculty
Broadly speaking, I am an integrative physiologist interested in the impact of environmental toxicants on crustaceans. Students in my lab use an ever-changing set of experimental tools in their work with DNA, RNA, protein, isolated mitochondria, cultured tissues and whole animals
Dobo Hall 2100
910.962.2514
covij@uncw.edu
Steven D. Emslie
Professor: Marine Ornithology, Paleoecology | Graduate Faculty
My research interests are interdisciplinary and focus on seabird ecology and paleoecology, especially on the Adelie Penguin in Antarctica. I apply stable isotope and radiocarbon analyses to investigate the foraging ecology of penguins and other seabirds, past and present, in relation to climate change. I also study the fossil record of birds in the Plio/Pleistocene of western North America and changes in avian biodiversity and species distributions at the end of the Pleistocene.
Emslie Lab | Google Scholar
Dobo Hall 2075
910.962.3357
emslies@uncw.edu
Patrick M. Erwin
Professor: Microbial Eology, Environmental Microbiology | Graduate Faculty
My primary fields of interest are microbial ecology and environmental microbiology, with particular focus on symbiotic microbial communities in marine invertebrates, including:The structure, function and dynamics of bacterial and archaeal symbiont communities, and The contribution of symbiont metabolism to host ecology and marine nutrient cycles.
Center for Marine Science 2324
910.962.2326
erwinp@uncw.edu
Sarah R. Fausett
Assistant Professor | Graduate Faculty
In my lab, we use the elegant simplicity of nematodes to probe the genetics & physiology of energetic trade-offs in reproduction & aging, unlocking secrets of both evolutionary fitness & human disease.
Dobo Hall 2101
910.962.0566
fausetts@uncw.edu
Christopher M. Finelli
Dean of the Graduate School & Professor: Biological Oceanography | Graduate Faculty
James Hall 211
910.962.2137
finellic@uncw.edu
Nicole D. Fogarty
Associate Professor: Coral Reef Ecology | Graduate Faculty
My laboratory focuses on coral reproduction and understanding how anthropogenic stressors have led to the decline of corals worldwide. We are one of only a few facilities in the world that spawns Caribbean corals in the laboratory using artificial light. Our 36-tank experimental system allows us to understand how changes in temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, light, and pollutants will impact the physiology of Caribbean corals under future oceanic conditions.
Center for Marine Science 2336
910.962.3397
fogartyn@uncw.edu
Arthur R. Frampton, Jr.
Pre-Health Advisor & Associate Professor: Virology | Graduate Faculty
Dobo Hall 1063
910.962.2643
framptona@uncw.edu
Kenneth M. Halanych
Executive Director of the Center of Marine Science & Professor: Genomics and Evolution of Invertebrates | Graduate Faculty
Marine invertebrate evolution, marine genomics, evolutionary origins and relationships of major metazoan lineages, molecular systematics and phylogenetic theory, Antarctic biogeography, diversification of chemosynthetic fauna (especially siboglinids)
Halanych Lab | Google Scholar
Center for Marine Science 1120
910.962.5000
halanychk@uncw.edu
Jessie C. Jarvis
Professor: Coastal/Marine Plant Biology | Graduate Faculty
I am a coastal plant ecologist interested in underwater grasses also known as submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). My aim is to understand the effects of environmental stressors on large-scale physiological processes such as plant development and reproduction within SAV populations and to communicate these results to resource agencies and policy makers charged with their management
Center for Marine Science 2329
910.962.2839
jarvisj@uncw.edu
Stephanie J. Kamel
Professor: Marine Evolutionary Ecology | Graduate Faculty
We are interested in many aspects of marine ecology, evolution, and conservation. Projects in the lab include the spatial genetics of oyster populations, the behavioral ecology of salt marsh predator-prey interactions, mechanisms of resilience in seagrasses, as well as the thermal biology of loggerhead sea turtles. We employ a range of tools in our research, including field studies, molecular genetics, and laboratory experiments.
Center for Marine Science 2338
910.962.2841
kamels@uncw.edu
Stephen T. Kinsey
Professor: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology | Graduate Faculty
Our lab is broadly interested in comparative physiology and biochemistry, with an emphasis on how cellular processes affect complex, whole animal phenotypic traits. Much of our effort at the cellular level is directed at understanding muscle energetics and the metabolic principles that drive cellular design
Dobo Hall 2106A
910.962.7398
kinseys@uncw.edu
Kevin B. Kiser
Lecturer
Sartarelli Hall 2020C
910.962.2698
kiserk@uncw.edu
Logan Kozal
Lecturer
Friday Hall 1055
910.962.2315
kozall@uncw.edu
Pierre Le Pabic
Associate Professor: Evolutionary Developmental Biology | Graduate Faculty
My research focuses on the genetic and molecular basis of craniofacial development and evolution. I use a combination of traditional and cutting-edge experimental approaches in fish models to understand how developmental mechanisms produce a functional craniofacial skeleton, and how changes in these mechanisms result in phenotypic variation during evolution or in human diseases.
Dobo Hall 2097
910.962.3884
lepabicp@uncw.edu
Zachary T. Long
Associate Professor: Coastal Plant Ecology | Graduate Faculty
I combine theoretical and experimental approaches to investigate how interactions among species allow for or prevent their coexistence, and how the number and identity of coexisting species (i.e., diversity) influences the collective performance or functioning of ecosystems.
Friday Hall 2067
longz@uncw.edu
Susanna Lopez-Legentil
Professor: Marine Molecular Ecology | Graduate Faculty
Multidisciplinary approaches to the biology and ecology of marine invertebrates as it relates to their susceptibility to anthropogenic impacts. Specific research lines include: invasive ecology of introduced ascidians and stability and significance of their symbiotic microbial communities.
iMesa Lab | Google Scholar
ORCID Number : 0000-0001-8737-6729
Center for Marine Science 2327
910.962.2615
lopezlegentils@uncw.edu
Jennifer Martinez
Lecturer
Friday Hall 2065
910.962.2597
martinezj@uncw.edu
Matthew McLean
Assistant Professor | Graduate Faculty
Lab Website | Google Scholar
Dobo Hall 2095
910.962.2678
mcleanm@uncw.edu
Erin Meyer
Lecturer
Sartarelli Hall 2013
910.962.2411
meyere@uncw.edu
Andrew M. Miller
Lab Coordinator/Lecturer
Dobo Hall 1020A
910.962.7566
millera@uncw.edu
Julie Neurohr
Lecturer
Sartarelli Hall 1014
910.962.2834
neurohrj@uncw.edu
Joseph R. Pawlik
Distinguished Professor: Marine Chemical Ecology | Graduate Faculty
Dr. Pawlik is a marine invertebrate zoologist with research interests in marine chemical ecology and coral reef ecology. Recent work in his lab has focused on the functions of unusual organic compounds derived from Caribbean coral reef sponges and sea whips, particularly as defenses against predation, fouling, and overgrowth
Dr. Pawlik | Google Scholar
Center for Marine Science 2333
910.962.2377
pawlikj@uncw.edu
Darin S. Penneys
Associate Professor: Plant Systematics | Graduate Faculty
My primary interests are in the systematics, natural history, and evolution of angiosperms. I specialize in the Melastomataceae, focusing on the classification and phylogenetics of the family as a whole and some tribes and genera in particular, plus biogeography, morphology, anatomy, seeds, plant-animal interactions, biodiversity, and conservation. My current research also encompasses floristics of the southeastern USA and the Philippines.
Penneys Lab | Google Scholar | Research Gate
Dobo Hall 2096
910.962.3046
penneysd@uncw.edu
Carol Z. Plautz
Lecturer
Friday Hall 1057
910.962.0565
plautzc@uncw.edu
Martin H. Posey
Professor: Estuarine Ecology | Graduate Faculty
My colleagues and I are studying factors determining species composition in marine bottom communities. We are particularly interested in the effects of predation, competition, biological disturbance, introduced species and eutrophication on community structure.
Center for Marine Science 1333
910.962.2474
poseym@uncw.edu
Carolina Priester
Lecturer
Sartarelli Hall 2020B
910.962.2943
priesterc@uncw.edu
Matthew Ramirez
Assistant Professor: Coastal and Marine Biology | Graduate Faculty
Our research group works at the intersections of population biology, food web ecology, and global change biology, with an emphasis on understanding how natural and anthropogenic stressors alter life history traits, trophic interactions, and food web structure and function in marine systems. Much of our work uses sea turtles or other marine vertebrates as model organisms to test ecological theory and build predicative frameworks describing ecological responses to ecosystem changes. To this end, we integrate a variety of traditional and novel research techniques, especially ecogeochemistry (e.g., stable isotope analysis), sclerochronology, and quantitative modeling.
Center for Marine Science 1339
910.962.2884
ramirezmd@uncw.edu
Ryan Rhodes
Lecturer
Friday Hall 2028B
910.962.2208
rhodesr@uncw.edu
Frederick S. Scharf
Department Chair & Professor: Fisheries Biology | Graduate Faculty
My primary research interests are in the role that ecological processes play in structuring aquatic communities and their implications for the population dynamics of marine and estuarine fishes. I am interested in identifying factors that affect vital rates of different life history stages and extending knowledge of individual processes to understand interactions among size-structured populations.
Scharf Lab | Google Scholar
Dobo Hall 1010B
910.962.7796
scharff@uncw.edu
Lorian E. Schweikert
Assistant Professor: Comparative Neurophysiology | Graduate Faculty
Dr. Schweikert is a comparative neurophysiologist who works to understand the biological principles of sensory detection and sensory-guided behavior, primarily as it relates to marine animal vision. Current projects in the lab are focused on the sensory biology of dynamic color change, marine mammal vision, and the relationship of vision and bioluminescence in deep-sea systems.
Schweikert Lab | Google Scholar
Dobo Hall 1076A
910.962.2365
schweikertl@uncw.edu
Kerri Smith
Assistant Professor | Graduate Faculty
Center for Marine Science 1334
910.962.3780
smithkj@uncw.edu
Lori Sutter
Assistant Professor | Graduate Faculty
I am broadly interested in the effects of climate change and other stressors on wetland ecology. My current research emphasizes the response of tidal marshes to sea-level rise (SLR). Through greenhouse experiments and field measurements/manipulations, I investigate how tidal marshes respond to changing environmental drivers. My goal is to better understand the complex feedbacks between organisms and the changing environments that determine marsh resilience.”
Center for Marine Science 1336
910.962.3229
sutterl@uncw.edu
Alison R. Taylor
Professor: Cell Biology & Director of the RMD Microscopy Facility | Graduate Faculty
Research in my lab has focused on the cell biology of diatoms and coccolithophores, two of the most significant groups of phytoplankton with respect to ocean primary productivity and marine biogeochemical cycles.
Dobo Hall 1082A
910.962.2176
taylora@uncw.edu
Michael S. Tift
Assistant Professor: Comparative Physiology | Graduate Faculty
My current research interests lie mainly in the comparative physiology of vertebrates. A major focus of my lab has been on the role of gasotransmitters (carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitric oxide) in the health and function of wild animals. Considered by many to be strictly toxic, these gases are now known to be naturally produced in the body and are being used in clinical studies to treat many diseases and injuries associated with hypoxia and ischemia-reperfusion events.
Dobo Hall 2081
910.962.2777
tiftm@uncw.edu
Bradley B. Tolar
Assistant Professor: Environmental Microbiology, Microbial Ecology | Graduate Faculty
Microorganisms drive global elemental cycles and are crucial for ecosystem function. My research investigates relationships between biogeochemically-important microbes and their environment to establish a baseline of seasonal change and stress tolerance. Though I am interested in many Bacteria and Archaea, my focus is on Thaumarchaeotaammonia-oxidizing Archaea that transform fixed nitrogen (ammonia) to nitrite, connecting oxidized and reduced forms of bioavailable nitrogen.
Tolar Lab | Google Scholar
Center for Marine Science 2331
910.962.7302
tolarb@uncw.edu
Blake Ushijima
Assistant Professor: Microbiology & Molecular Pathogenesis | Graduate Faculty
We work on exploratory and applied projects focused on the host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions contributing to the health of marine invertebrates. Our research focuses on the molecular and genetic basis for infections by bacterial pathogens and host protection by beneficial microbes (e.g. probiotics).
Ushijima Lab | Google Scholar
Friday Hall 2024A
910.962.0641
UshijimaB@uncw.edu
Jacob F. Warner
Assistant Professor: Marine Embryology | Graduate Faculty
Our lab uses marine invertebrates to study how organisms develop from a single cell to an embryo. We’re particularly interested in how genes are arranged into regulatory networks to effect cell fate decisions and morphological changes in the early embryo.
Dobo Hall 2083
910.962.0542
warnerj@uncw.edu
Ami E. Wilbur
Director, UNCW Shellfish Research Hatchery & Professor: Shellfish Genetics and Mariculture
| Graduate Faculty
My research focuses on the application of modern molecular techniques to basic and applied questions in shellfish genetics and mariculture. I am particularly interested in the development and application of genetic markers to resolve issues in the design, implementation, and evaluation of culture efforts, and fisheries management practices involving marine bivalve molluscs.
Center for Marine Science 2314
910.962.2389
wilbura@uncw.edu
Amanda Southwood Williard
Graduate Coordinator & Professor: Animal Physiology | Graduate Faculty
My research projects are inspired by an interest in how animals respond physiologically and behaviorally to changes in environmental conditions. I have been involved in a wide variety of studies, ranging from diving physiology to chemical ecology, but am particularly interested in the thermal biology of sea turtles.
Williard Lab
Friday Hall 2069
910.962.4064
williarda@uncw.edu
Stephan Woditschka
Lecturer
Sartarelli Hall 2020A
910.962.3670
woditschkas@uncw.edu
Kara E. Yopak
Associate Professor: Comparative Neuroscience | Graduate Faculty
My research focuses on the evolution of neural systems, particularly how brains have diversified within some of the earliest vertebrate groups, namely sharks, skates, rays, and chimaerids (the cartilaginous fishes). My lab focuses on comparative neuroanatomy within this clade and how the development of major brain areas between species in conjunction with the adaptive evolution of their sensory and motor systems.
Center for Marine Science 2332
910.962.7408
yopakk@uncw.edu
Mr. Troy D. Alphin
Adjunct & Part-Time Faculty
Dr. Eric Bolen
Adjunct
Dr. Tim Ballard
Part-Time Faculty
Dr. Sussane Brander
Adjunct
Dr. Rebecka L. Brasso
Adjunct
Dr. Suzanne Budge
Adjunct
Dr. Elizabeth Darrow Condon
Adjunct
Dr. Ted Cranford
Adjunct
Dr. Jennifer Culbertson
Adjunct
Dr. John S. Cummings
Adjunct
Dr. Andrea Currylow
Adjunct
Mr. David DuMond
Adjunct
Dr. Sheila Baztan Hanby
Adjunct
Dr. Claire Hohenwarter
Adjunct
Dr. Judson W. Kenworthy
Adjunct
Dr. John Kucklick
Adjunct
Ms. Annew Markwith
Part-Time Faculty
Dr. Vicki Martin
Adjunct
Dr. Michael McCartney
Adjunct
Dr. Jean McNeil
Adjunct
William A. McLellan
adjunct
Dr. David Meyer
Adjunct
Mr. Andrew Miller
Part-Time Faculty
Mr. Louis Muzyczek
Part-Time Faculty
Dr. Thomas Nolen
Adjunct
Dr. Douglas Nowacek
Adjunct
Dr. Michael Polito
Adjunct
Ms. Anne Porter
Part-Time Faculty
Dr. David Rabon
Adjunct
Dr. Warren Ramp
Adjunct
Dr. Andrew J. Read
Adjunct
Mr. Fred C. Rohde
Adjunct
Dr. Steve W. Ross
Adjunct
Dr. Laela Sayigh
Adjunct
Dr. Eric Schuettpelz
Adjunct
Dr. Jerzy Smykla
Adjunct
Ms. Jessica Snoberger
Part-Time Faculty
Dr. Bongkeun (BK) Song
Adjunct
Dr. Xavier Turon
Adjunct
Dr. Randall W. Wells
Adjunct
Dr. J. Wilson White
Adjunct
Dr. G. Frank Yelverton
Adjunct
Dr. Carlos B. Zavalaga
Adjunct
Troy D. Alphin
Research Associate: Estuarine Ecology
910.962.2395
alphint@uncw.edu
Alyson Fleming
Research Faculty
D. Wilson Freshwater
Research Analyst: Marine Botany
910.962.2375
freshwaterw@uncw.edu
Michael A. Mallin
Research Professor: Estuarine Ecology
Myrtle Grove 1331
910.962.2358
mallinm@uncw.edu
Andrew Westgate
Research Professor: Marine Vertebrate Physiology
Friday Hall 2035
910.962.2783
westgatea@uncw.edu
Mia Hayes Aguilar
Manager: Kresge Greenhouse
Friday Hall 2075
910.962.7814
aguilarm@uncw.edu
Tracie J. Chadwick
Administrative Associate: Purchasing
Dobo Hall 1010
910.962.3536
chadwickt@uncw.edu
Kayleigh Garrett
Administrative Associate: Graduate Programs
Dobo Hall 1010
910.962.3489
garrettk@uncw.edu
Rachel Gentry
Administrative Associate: Travel
Dobo Hall 1010
910.962.3707
gentryrc@uncw.edu
Brenda Jarrell Reeves
Administrative Specialist
Dobo Hall 1010A
910.962.3470
jarrellb@uncw.edu
Timothy A. Ballard
Professor: Human Anatomy
Ileana Clavijo
Professor: Fisheries Biology
Richard M. Dillaman
Professor Emeritus: Animal Morphology, Electron Microscopy
Diane M. B. Dodd
Professor: General and Population Genetics
Michael J. Durako
Professor Emeritus: Coastal Plant Biology
durakom@uncw.edu
Paul E. Hosier
Professor Emeritus: Plant Ecology, Ecology of Coast Vegetation
hosier@uncw.edu
Donald F. Kapraun
Professor Emeritus: Phycology
kapraund@uncw.edu
Thomas Lankford
Professor: Icthyology
D. Ann Pabst
Professor Emeritus: Marine Mammalogy
pabsta@uncw.edu
Robert D. Roer
Professor Emeritus: Animal Physiology, Biomineralization
roer@uncw.edu
Richard Satterlie
Professor Emeritus: Neurophysiology
Ron Sizemore
Professor Emeritus: Microbiology
Thomas Schafer
Professor: Developmental Biology
Carmelo R. Tomas
Professor Emeritus: Marine Phytoplankton
tomasc@uncw.edu
Wm. David Webster
Professor and Curator of Mammals: Mammalogy
webste@uncw.edu
Contact Us
Department of Biology and Marine Biology
Phone: (910) 962-3487
Fax: (910) 962-4066
601 South College Road
Dobo Hall, 1010
Wilmington, NC 28403-5915