Stevenson University Biology

I am an Assistant Professor of Biology and the Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Stevenson University. I earned my Honors Bachelor of Science degree in 1992 from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and my Ph.D. in Biology in 1998 from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. While there, I studied the expression of genes that are important in the symbiotic relationship between the bacterium Bradyrhizobium japonicum and soybeans. I completed my postdoctoral research fellowship from 1998-2003 in the Laboratory of Genetics at the National Institute on Aging, NIH in Baltimore, Maryland. At the NIA, I studied the regulation of the EDA gene, which causes the disorder X-linked Anhidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia when it is mutated.

After growing up in the midwest in Naperville, Illinois, I moved to Baltimore, Maryland to attend graduate school, and ended up staying. I am married, with three kids, so my free time is spent mainly running between various sports practices and school events. I do enjoy traveling and being outside. One of my favorite places is Topsail Island, North Carolina – it’s very peaceful and relaxing. I decided on a career in biology in the summer between my junior and senior years in high school (until then I was going to be a corporate lawyer!). That summer, I went to a Women in Engineering summer program at the University of Notre Dame, and really got turned on to science. And the rest is history…

I have taught several courses here at Stevenson University, including Freshman Science Seminar, General Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry and Principles of Biochemistry. Students say I am a tough, but fair, teacher, and that I am always willing to help in any way I can. That’s the best complement I can think of. I also supervise the Senior Capstone in the biology department. Some of the students go into this experience nervous and anxious about going into a new situation and working in a professional setting. Once they start working, though, they realize they really are well-prepared for the experience and they do have a lot to offer in the professional setting. It is really wonderful to see them at the end of the semester, presenting their work as accomplished and confident scientists – it’s a great transformation!

Some of my former students are working at biotechnology companies, like MedImmune, BD Diagnostics, and Athena Environmental Sciences, Inc. Others have gone on to graduate programs in research at various places, including the University of Virginia, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and University of Pennsylvania. Still others have gone to professional programs, including pharmacy, physical therapy, physician’s assistant and veterinary schools.

Research Interests: I am currently working with Forensic Science graduate students on various forensic DNA analysis projects. In one project, we are studying the efficacy of obtaining and analyzing DNA profiles from “touch DNA”, which is the trace amounts of DNA that can be obtained from latent fingerprints. We are also studying the effect that various cleaning agents have on DNA obtained from blood-stained fabric, in order to determine whether DNA profiles can be obtained from evidence that may have been cleaned. Another project involves determining the level of similarity of DNA Profiles between immediate and extended family members. This has become an important area of research lately as more states have passed laws requiring every person who is arrested for certain types of crimes to give a DNA sample, and ethical questions have arisen relating to the use of partial DNA matches to investigate family members of suspected offenders.