Biology Faculty
Faculty in the Saint Louis University Department of Biology are active in research and conduct studies in diverse subdisciplines within biology including cell biology, ecology, evolutionary biology, genomics, molecular biology, neuroscience, pedagogical studies and physiology.
To carry out the SLU department's mission, our faculty consists of teaching faculty, whose primary responsibilities are teaching and service; and research faculty, whose responsibilities include conducting research and mentoring graduate students, in addition to teaching and service.
Departmental Faculty Leadership
Laurie Shornick, Ph.D.
Department chair
Lindzy Dodson, Ph.D.
Associate chair
Ashley Milam, Ph.D.
Coordinator for graduate studies
(Frequently asked questions about biology graduate programs)
Julie Thole, Ph.D.
Coordinator for undergraduate studies
Susan Spencer, Ph.D.
Coordinator for undergraduate research
Teaching Faculty
- Betsy Angeli
- Alaina Baker-Nigh, Ph.D.
- Lindzy Dodson, Ph.D.
- Benjamin England, Ed.D.
- Eva Gonzales, Ph.D.
- Maximilian Lyon, Ph.D.
- Ashley Milam, Ph.D.
- Laurie Russell, Ph.D.
- Mahboubeh Tavakoli-Nezhad, Ph.D.
- Julie Thole, Ph.D.
- Alice Tipton, Ph.D.
Research Faculty
- Stephen Blake, Ph.D.
- Elena Bray Speth, Ph.D.
- Brian Downes, Ph.D.
- Jonathan Fisher, Ph.D.
- Kasey Fowler-Finn, Ph.D.
- Laibin Huang, Ph.D.
- Blythe Janowiak, Ph.D.
- Jason Knouft, Ph.D.
- Laurence Lemaire, Ph.D.
- Zhenguo Lin, Ph.D.
- Haijun Liu, Ph.D.
- Allison Miller, Ph.D.
- Sofia Origanti, Ph.D.
- Cristy Portales-Reyes, Ph.D.
- Matthew Rubin, Ph.D.
- Mohini Sengupta, Ph.D.
- Laurie Shornick, Ph.D.
- Susan Spencer, Ph.D.
- Yuqi Wang, Ph.D.
- Daniel Warren, Ph.D.
- Robert Wood, Ph.D.
- Wenyan Xiao, Ph.D.
- Dapeng Zhang, Ph.D.
Emeriti Faculty
- Robert D. Aldridge, Ph.D.
- Joe Leverich, Ph.D.
- John Kennell, Ph.D.
- Richard Mayden, Ph.D.
- Judith Ogilvie, Ph.D.
- John Severson, Ph.D.
- William S. Stark, Ph.D.
Retired Faculty
- Jan Barber, Ph.D.
- Thomas Valone, Ph.D.
Current Affiliate Members
- Charles An Ph.D., research molecular biologist, United States Department of Agriculture, ARS, DDPSC
- Kristine Callis-Duehl Ph.D., director, Science Education and Outreach, The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
- Kirk Czymmek Ph.D., director, Advanced Bioimaging Laboratory, The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
- Christine Edwards Ph.D., Stephen and Camilla Brauer Associate Scientist, Conservation Genetics Missouri Botanical Garden
- Sandy Leal Ph.D., professor of biology, Harris-Stowe State University
- Andrea Eveland Ph.D., principal nvestigator, The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
- Carmel Martin-Fairey Ph.D., assistant professor, Harris-Stowe State University
Secondary Appointment Members
- Lane-DeGraaf Kelly Ph.D., associate dean of academic affairs, College of Public Health & Social Justice
Former Affiliate Members
- Thomas Croat Ph.D. P.A., Schulze Curator of Botany Missouri Botanical Garden
- Charles Hoessle Ph.D., director emeritus, Saint Louis Zoo
- Cheryl Asa Ph.D., director of research, reproductive and behavioral sciences, Saint Louis Zoo
- Peter Goldblatt Ph.D., curator emeritus, Africa and Madagascar, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Joan E. Bauman Ph.D., Saint Louis Zoo
- Kevin Kayser Ph.D., senior director, head of upstream R&D, Millipore Sigma
- Dorota Skowyra Ph.D., Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine
- Mich Richardson Ph.D., Missouri Botanical Garden
- Gerald S. Zavorsky Ph.D., Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women’s Health, Saint Louis University School of Medicine
- Anthony Dell Ph.D., ecologist, National Great Rivers Research and Education Center
- Peter Hoch Ph.D., curator, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Peter Kevan Ph.D., formerly Missouri Botanical Garden (now University of of Guelph)
- Peter Raven Ph.D., president emeritus, Missouri Botanical Garden
Faculty Resources
Employee/Employment Forms
- Biology paper time sheet (PDF)
- Undergraduate teaching assistant application (PDF)
- Biology student worker hiring request form (PDF)