Faculty

Faculty in the BioGAP program span research in the life sciences and are skilled in mentoring young scientists.

Elva Diaz

Elva Diaz

  • Professor
  • Department of Pharmacology
  • School of Medicine
Elva Diaz studies molecular mechanisms of brain development, function and disease in rodent model systems. We used expression profiling as a tool to identify genes that are developmentally regulated during mouse brain development. Candidate genes are characterized with molecular and cellular techniques and transgenic mice. Currently, we have focused our efforts on molecules that function at excitatory synapses in the hippocampus, an area of the brain important for learning and memory.
Scott Dawson

Scott Dawson

  • Associate Professor
  • Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
  • College of Biological Sciences
Scott Dawson studies cytoskeletal organelle function, and evolution in the widespread protistan parasite Giardia lamblia. We are also interested in how cytoskeletal variation, function, and evolution is achieved in diverse amoeboid protists.  With respect to parasitology, we also are interested in the metabolic interactions that occur between Giardia and the host gut microbiome.
Sean Collins

Sean Collins

  • Assistant Professor
  • Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • College of Biological Sciences
Sean Collins studies how individual cells process information, make decisions, and enact appropriate responses. He uses human neutrophils as a model system and examines how they process dynamic extracellular chemical cues to guide their behavior. Methods in his lab include a combination of techniques with particular emphasis on systematic quantitative analysis of genetic perturbations, direct monitoring of signaling using live-cell imaging of fluorescent biosensors, and mathematical modeling.
Fred Chedin

Frédéric Chédin

  • Professor
  • Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • College of Biological Sciences
Frédéric Chédin studies how mammalian cells regulate gene expression programs through the formation of unusual DNA structures during transcription. The Chédin lab uses biochemical, molecular genetics, and cell culture approaches, with a focus on high-throughput genomics methods backed by computational analyses.
Sean Burgess

Sean M. Burgess

  • Professor
  • Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • College of Biological Sciences
Sean Burgess explores the dynamic chromosome events that occur during the process of meiosis and how these processes are integrated to achieve accurate chromosome segregation. Chromosome missegregation is one of the leading causes of birth defects in humans. The Burgess lab combines the use of a wide array of tools, including genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry and live-cell imaging using budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and zebrafish Danio rerio as model systems.
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