Within the School of Biological Sciences, faculty are affiliated with one of two broad research areas. Faculty collaborate extensively within and between these areas as well as with colleagues in other departments.
Ecology, Evolution, & Behavior (EEB)
Faculty members address fundamental, interdisciplinary research questions that bridge ecological, evolutionary, physiological, and behavioral processes. We use a variety of approaches to address these questions including: field studies, laboratory experiments, mathematical modelling, comparative genomics, functional genetics, systems biology, and phylogenetics. We are an interactive community of researchers who collaborate among laboratories and across the university to make new discoveries related to the diversity of the natural world.
Genetics, Cellular, & Molecular Biology (GCMB)
Faculty members use proteomic and genomic strategies, combined with bioinformatics to study fundamental biological processes of organisms ranging from viruses, prokaryotes, unicellular eukaryotes and fungi, to whole plants and animals. Areas of focus include cell biology, population and molecular genetics, epigenetics, microbiology, virology, immunology, structural biology, animal/plant pathology, genomics, bioinformatics, and molecular evolution. Interactive clusters of research groups focus on plant and animal virology, microbial physiology and cell biology, comparative pathobiology, plant growth and development, biotic stresses, biofuels, protein engineering, evolutionary genomics, and computational biology.
Faculty Research Areas of Interest
Animal Behavior
| Faculty | Section | Department | Research Interests |
| Eileen Hebets | EEB | Biological Sciences; Entomology | Evolution and Function of Animal Communication, Sensory Systems and Mating Systems |
| Ian Keesey | EEB | Biological Sciences | Comparative neurobiology, sensory systems, and chemical ecology |
| Emily Moore | EEB | Biological Sciences | Evolutionary, behavioral, and reproductive genomics |
| Daizaburo Shizuka | EEB | Biological Sciences | Evolutionary and Behavioral Ecology; Social Networks; Ornithology |
| Rick Bevins | EEB | Psychology;Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior; Minority Health Disparities Initiative; Substance Abuse and Violence Initiative | Neuroscience, Pharmacology, Animal Learning and Behavior and Biopsychology |
Bioinformatics
| Faculty | Section | Department | Research Interests |
| Alan Christensen | GCMB | Biological Sciences | DNA Damage and Repair, Plant Mitochondrial Genomes, Repeats Of Unusual Size, Recombination |
| Emily Moore | EEB | Biological Sciences | Evolutionary, behavioral, and reproductive genomics |
| Etsuko Moriyama | GCMB | Biological Science; Center for Plant Science Innovation; Nebraska Food for Health Center | Bioinformatics; Molecular Evolution; Molecular Population Genetics |
| Hideaki Moriyama | GCMB | Biological Sciences | Electrophysiology and Structural Biology; Molecular Biology and Biochemistry; Bioinformatics |
| Nicole Sexton | GCMB | Biological Sciences | Evolution, codon usage, and host-virus interactions of arthropod-borne viruses. Genetic robustness of RNA viruses. |
| Rebecca Varney | GCMB | Biological Sciences | Eukaryotic extremophiles in both freshwater and marine systems, Evolutionary biology, Genomics & Physiology |
| Eric Weaver | GCMB | Biological Sciences | Virology; Microbiology; Immunology |
| Chi Zhang | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Center for Plant Science Innovation | Computational Systems Biology; Bioinformatics; Gene Protein Interaction Network; Omics Data Integration |
| Jeff Mower | GCMB | Agronomy & Horticulture; Center for Plant Science Innovation | Comparative Genomics and Molecular Evolution of Plant Genomes |
| Samodha Fernando | GCMB | Animal Science;Food Science & Technology; Nebraska Food for Health Center; Gut Function Initiative | Microbiome; Host-Microbe Interactions; Microbe-Microbe Interactions; Antibiotic Resistance |
| Jessica Petersen | GCMB | Animal Science | Identifying Functional Variation Associated with Health and Performance Traits in Livestock and Horses |
| Asit K. Pattnaik | GCMB | Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences;Nebraska Center for Virology | Zika Virus Replication and Pathogenesis; Host Cell Functions in RNA Virus Replication, Antivirals, Vaccines, Interferons |
Biology Education & Science Communication
| Faculty | Section | Department | Research Interests |
| Chad Brassil | EEB | Biological Sciences | Mathematical Modeling of Ecological Interactions |
| Brian Couch | GCMB | Biological Sciences | Assessment in Undergraduate STEM Courses |
| Eileen Hebets | EEB | Biological Sciences; Entomology | Informal Science Education, STEM Outreach, and Science Communication |
Ecology
| Faculty | Section | Department | Research Interests |
| Chad Brassil | EEB | Biological Sciences | Mathematical Modeling of Ecological Interactions |
| Clay Cressler | EEB | Biological Sciences | Disease Ecology and Evolution |
| John DeLong | EEB | Biological Sciences | Body Size Evolution; Predator-Prey Ecology; Eco-evolutionary Dynamics; Ecological and Evolutionary Energetics; Human Population Ecology |
| Sheri Fritz | EEB | Biological Sciences; Earth & Atmospheric Sciences | Paleoecology; Aquatic Ecology; Tropical Ecology |
| Eileen Hebets | EEB | Biological Sciences; Entomology | Evolution and Function of Animal Communication, Sensory Systems, and Mating Systems |
| Michael Herman | EEB/GCMB | Biological Sciences | Genetics, Evolutionary and Ecological Genomics, Nematode-Bacterial Interactions |
| Ian Keesey | EEB | Biological Sciences | Comparative neurobiology, sensory systems, and chemical ecology |
| Kate Lyons | EEB | Biological Sciences; Smithsonian Institute | Species and Community Level Responses to Climate Change; Extinction and Extinction Risk; Macroecological Patterns Across Space and Time; Macroevolution of Body Size in Mammals; Biases in the Mammalian Fossil Record |
| Sabrina E. Russo | EEB | Biological Sciences; Center for Root & Rhizobiome innovation | Biodiversity; Plant Ecology and Ecophysiology; Plant-Microbe Interactions; Seed Dispersal |
| Daizaburo Shizuka | EEB | Biological Sciences | Evolutionary and Behavioral Ecology; Social Networks; Ornithology |
| Brigitte Tenhumberg | EEB | Biological Sciences; Mathematics; Natural Resources; Entomology; Agronomy & Horticulture | Plant and Insect Ecology; Life History Evolution; Population Management and Demography |
| Peter Wagner | EEB | Biological Sciences; Earth & Atmospheric Sciences; Nebraska State Museum | Phylogenetics; Sampling Theory; Evolutionary Rates; Evolutionary Trends |
| Karrie A. Weber | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Nebraska Water Center, Daughtery Water for Food Institute | Microbiology of Soil, Sediment and Water Biogeochemical Cycling; Geomicrobiology of Modern and Paleo-Environments; Physiology of Novel Microorganisms and Metabolisms Using Culture Dependent and Independent Techniques |
| Bob Zink | EEB | Biological Sciences; Natural Resources | Systematics; Phylogeography; Conservation Genetics |
| Samodha Fernando | GCMB | Animal Science; Food Science & Technology; Nebraska Food for Health Center; Gut Function Initiative | Microbiome; Host-Microbe Interactions; Microbe-Microbe Interactions; Antibiotic Resistance |
Evolution
| Faculty | Section | Department | Research Interests |
| Sheri Fritz | EEB | Biological Sciences; Earth & Atmospheric Sciences | Paleoecology; Aquatic Ecology; Tropical Ecology |
| Eileen Hebets | EEB | Biological Sciences; Entomology | Evolution and Function of Animal Communication, Sensory Systems and Mating Systems |
| Ian Keesey | EEB | Biological Sciences | Comparative neurobiology, sensory systems, and chemical ecology |
| Colin Meiklejohn | EEB | Biological Sciences | Population, Evolutionary, and Speciation Genomics |
| Kristi Montooth | EEB | Biological Sciences | Evolution of Genes, Genomes and Physiology |
| Emily Moore | EEB | Biological Sciences | Evolutionary, behavioral, and reproductive genomics |
| Etsuko Moriyama | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Center for Plant Science Innovation; Nebraska Food for Health Center | Bioinformatics; Molecular Evolution; Molecular Population Genetics |
| Nicole Sexton | GCMB | Biological Sciences | Evolution, codon usage, and host-virus interactions of arthropod-borne viruses. Genetic robustness of RNA viruses. |
| Jay Storz | EEB | Biological Sciences | Evolutionary Genetics, Genomics and Physiology |
| Rebecca Varney | GCMB | Biological Sciences | Eukaryotic extremophiles in both freshwater and marine systems, Evolutionary biology, Genomics & Physiology |
| Peter Wagner | EEB | Biological Sciences; Earth & Atmospheric Sciences; Nebraska State Museum | Phylogenetics; Sampling Theory; Evolutionary Rates; Evolutionary Trends |
Genetics & Genomics
| Faculty | Section | Department | Research Interests |
| Heriberto Cerutti | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Center for Plant Science Innovation | Functional Genomics; Epigenetics; RNA interference; Biotechnology; Renewable Biofuels |
| Alan Christensen | GCMB | Biological Sciences | DNA Damage and Repair, Plant Mitochondrial Genomes, Repeats Of Unusual Size, Recombination |
| Brian Couch | GCMB | Biological Sciences | Assessment in Undergraduate STEM Courses |
| Michael Herman | EEB/GCMB | Biological Sciences | Genetics, Evolutionary and Ecological Genomics, Nematode-Bacterial Interactions |
| Colin Meiklejohn | EEB | Biological Sciences | Population, Evolutionary, and Speciation Genomics |
| Kristi Montooth | EEB | Biological Sciences | Evolution of Genes, Genomes and Physiology |
| Emily Moore | EEB | Biological Sciences | Evolutionary, behavioral, and reproductive genomics |
| Etsuko Moriyama | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Center for Plant Science Innovation; Nebraska Food for Health Center | Bioinformatics; Molecular Evolution; Molecular Population Genetics |
| Jay Storz | EEB | Biological Sciences | Evolutionary Genetics, Genomics and Physiology |
| Rebecca Varney | GCMB | Biological Sciences | Eukaryotic extremophiles in both freshwater and marine systems, Evolutionary biology, Genomics & Physiology |
| Karrie A. Weber | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Nebraska Water Center, Daughtery Water for Food Institute | Microbiology of Soil, Sediment and Water Biogeochemical Cycling; Geomicrobiology of Modern and Paleo-Environments; Physiology of Novel Microorganisms and Metabolisms Using Culture Dependent and Independent Techniques |
| Bin Yu | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Center for Plant Science Innovation | RNA Silencing and Epigenetics |
| Chi Zhang | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Center for Plant Science Innovation | Computational Systems Biology; Bioinformatics; Gene Protein Interaction Network; Omics Data Integration |
| Bob Zink | EEB | Biological Sciences; Natural Resources | Systematics; Phylogeography; Conservation Genetics |
| Jeff Mower | GCMB | Agronomy & Horticulture; Center for Plant Science Innovation | Comparative Genomics and Molecular Evolution of Plant Genomes |
| Harkamal Walia | GCMB | Agronomy & Horticulture; Center for Plant Science Innovation | Plant Adaptation to Environmental Stresses |
| Daniel Ciobanu | GCMB | Animal Science | Functional Genomics; Genetic Dissection of Complex Traits; Genetics of Disease Susceptibility |
| Jessica Petersen | GCMB | Animal Science | Identifying Functional Variation Associated with Health and Performance Traits in Livestock and Horses |
| Nicole Buan | GCMB | Biochemistry | Biochemistry; Redox Biology Center; Nebraska Center for Integrated Biomolecular CommunicationResearch Interests: Microbial Physiology and Metabolism, Redox Biochemistry, Bioenergy, Systems and Synthetic Biology |
| Asit K. Pattnaik | GCMB | Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | Zika Virus Replication and Pathogenesis; Host Cell Functions in RNA Virus Replication, Antivirals, Vaccines, Interferons |
| Matt Wiebe | GCMB | Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | Molecular Biology of Poxviruses; Intrinsic Defenses Against Foreign DNA |
Human Health
| Faculty | Section | Department | Research Interests |
| Qingsheng Li | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | HIV Transmission, Vaccine, and Prevention |
| Luwen Zhang | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | Viral Oncogenesis; Stem Cell Biology; Infectious Diseases; Innate Immunity |
| Amanda Ramer-Tait | GCMB | Food Science and Technology; Nebraska Food for Health Center | Host-Microbiota Interactions; Influence of the Diet on the Gut Microbiota |
| Thomas Petro | GCMB | UNMCOral Biology;Nebraska Center for Virology; Nebraska Center for Cell Signaling | Antiviral and Antitumor Immune Responses |
| Rick Bevins | EEB | Psychology;Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior; Minority Health Disparities Initiative; Substance Abuse and Violence Initiative | Neuroscience, Pharmacology, Animal Learning and Behavior and Biopsychology |
| Shi-Hua Xiang | GCMB | Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | Molecular Virology; Anti-Viral Research (Vaccines and Therapeutics) |
Mathematical Modeling
| Faculty | Section | Department | Research Interests |
| Chad Brassil | EEB | Biological Sciences | Mathematical Modeling of Ecological Interactions |
| Clay Cressler | EEB | Biological Sciences | Disease Ecology and Evolution |
| John DeLong | EEB | Biological Sciences | Body Size Evolution; Predator-Prey Ecology; Eco-evolutionary Dynamics; Ecological and Evolutionary Energetics; Human Population Ecology |
| Hideaki Moriyama | GCMB | Biological Sciences | Electrophysiology and Structural Biology; Molecular Biology and Biochemistry; Bioinformatics |
| Sabrina E. Russo | EEB | Biological Sciences; Center for Root & Rhizobiome innovation | Biodiversity; Plant Ecology and Ecophysiology; Plant-Microbe Interactions; Seed Dispersal |
| Brigitte Tenhumberg | EEB | Biological Sciences; Mathematics; Natural Resources; Entomology; Agronomy & Horticulture | Plant and Insect Ecology; Life History Evolution; Population Management and Demography |
| Peter Wagner | EEB | Biological Sciences; Earth & Atmospheric Sciences; Nebraska State Museum | Phylogenetics; Sampling Theory; Evolutionary Rates; Evolutionary Trends |
Microbiology
| Faculty | Section | Department | Research Interests |
| Heriberto Cerutti | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Center for Plant Science Innovation | Functional Genomics; Epigenetics; RNA interference; Biotechnology; Renewable Biofuels |
| Michael Herman | EEB/GCMB | Biological Sciences | Genetics, Evolutionary and Ecological Genomics, Nematode-Bacterial Interactions |
| Ian Keesey | EEB | Biological Sciences | Comparative neurobiology, sensory systems, and chemical ecology |
| Ken Nickerson | GCMB, PP | Biological Sciences; Plant Pathology; Chemistry | Quorum Sensing and Fungal Dimorphism in Candida albicans |
| Karrie A. Weber | GCMB | Biological Sciences;Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Nebraska Water Center, Daughtery Water for Food Institute | Microbiology of Soil, Sediment and Water Biogeochemical Cycling; Geomicrobiology of Modern and Paleo-Environments; Physiology of Novel Microorganisms and Metabolisms Using Culture Dependent and Independent Techniques |
| Luwen Zhang | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | Viral Oncogenesis; Stem Cell Biology; Infectious Diseases; Innate Immunity |
| Samodha Fernando | GCMB | Animal Science; Food Science & Technology; Nebraska Food for Health Center; Gut Function Initiative | Microbiome; Host-Microbe Interactions; Microbe-Microbe Interactions; Antibiotic Resistance |
| Nicole Buan | GCMB | Biochemistry | Biochemistry; Redox Biology Center; Nebraska Center for Integrated Biomolecular CommunicationResearch Interests: Microbial Physiology and Metabolism, Redox Biochemistry, Bioenergy, Systems and Synthetic Biology |
| Amanda Ramer-Tait | GCMB | Food Science & Technology; Nebraska Food for Health Center | Host-Microbiota Interactions; Influence of the Diet on the Gut Microbiota |
| Thomas Petro | GCMB | UNMCOral Biology; Nebraska Center for Virology; Nebraska Center for Cell Signaling | Antiviral and Antitumor Immune Responses |
| James Van Etten | GCMB, PP | Plant Pathology; Nebraska Center for Virology | |
| Raul Barletta | GCMB | Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences; Redox Biology Center | Molecular Genetics of Pathogenesis and Drug Resistance in Mycobacteria |
| Shi-Hua Xiang | GCMB | Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | Molecular Virology; Anti-Viral Research (Vaccines and Therapeutics) |
Molecular & Cellular Biology
| Faculty | Section | Department | Research Interests |
| Heriberto Cerutti | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Center for Plant Science Innovation | Functional Genomics; Epigenetics; RNA interference; Biotechnology; Renewable Biofuels |
| Brian Couch | GCMB | Biological Sciences | Assessment in Undergraduate STEM Courses |
| Michael Herman | EEB/GCMB | Biological Sciences | Genetics, Evolutionary and Ecological Genomics, Nematode-Bacterial Interactions |
| Colin Meiklejohn | EEB | Biological Sciences | Population, Evolutionary, and Speciation Genomics |
| Etsuko Moriyama | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Center for Plant Science Innovation; Nebraska Food for Health Center | Bioinformatics; Molecular Evolution; Molecular Population Genetics |
| Ken Nickerson | GCMB, PP | Biological Sciences; Plant Pathology; Chemistry | Quorum Sensing and Fungal Dimorphism in Candida albicans |
| Nicole Sexton | GCMB | Biological Sciences | Evolution, codon usage, and host-virus interactions of arthropod-borne viruses. Genetic robustness of RNA viruses. |
| Rebecca Varney | GCMB | Biological Sciences | Eukaryotic extremophiles in both freshwater and marine systems, Evolutionary biology, Genomics & Physiology |
| Eric Weaver | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | Virology; Microbiology; Immunology |
| Karrie A. Weber | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Nebraska Water Center, Daughtery Water for Food Institute | Microbiology of Soil, Sediment and Water Biogeochemical Cycling; Geomicrobiology of Modern and Paleo-Environments; Physiology of Novel Microorganisms and Metabolisms Using Culture Dependent and Independent Techniques |
| Bin Yu | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Center for Plant Science Innovation | RNA Silencing and Epigenetics |
| Luwen Zhang | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | Viral Oncogenesis; Stem Cell Biology; Infectious Diseases; Innate Immunity |
| Nicole Buan | GCMB | Biochemistry | Biochemistry; Redox Biology Center; Nebraska Center for Integrated Biomolecular CommunicationResearch Interests: Microbial Physiology and Metabolism, Redox Biochemistry, Bioenergy, Systems and Synthetic Biology |
| Thomas Petro | GCMB | UNMCOral Biology;Nebraska Center for Virology; Nebraska Center for Cell Signaling | Antiviral and Antitumor Immune Responses |
| James Van Etten | GCMB, PP | Plant Pathology; Nebraska Center for Virology | |
| Asit K. Pattnaik | GCMB | Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | Zika Virus Replication and Pathogenesis; Host Cell Functions in RNA Virus Replication, Antivirals, Vaccines, Interferons |
| Matt Wiebe | GCMB | Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | Molecular Biology of Poxviruses; Intrinsic Defenses Against Foreign DNA |
| Shi-Hua Xiang | GCMB | Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | Molecular Virology; Anti-Viral Research (Vaccines and Therapeutics) |
Parasitology
| Faculty | Section | Department | Research Interests |
| Clay Cressler | EEB | Biological Sciences | Disease Ecology and Evolution |
| Scott Gardner | EEB | Biological Sciences; H.W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology | Parasite Mammal Biodiversity |
Plant Biology & Pathology
| Faculty | Section | Department | Research Interests |
| Heriberto Cerutti | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Center for Plant Science Innovation | Functional Genomics; Epigenetics; RNA interference; Biotechnology; Renewable Biofuels |
| Alan Christensen | GCMB | Biological Sciences | DNA Damage and Repair, Plant Mitochondrial Genomes, Repeats Of Unusual Size, Recombination |
| Sabrina E. Russo | EEB | Biological Sciences; Center for Root & Rhizobiome innovation | Biodiversity; Plant Ecology and Ecophysiology; Plant-Microbe Interactions; Seed Dispersal |
| Bin Yu | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Center for Plant Science Innovation | RNA Silencing and Epigenetics |
| Jeff Mower | GCMB | Agronomy & Horticulture; Center for Plant Science Innovation | Comparative Genomics and Molecular Evolution of Plant Genomes |
| Daniel Schachtman | GCMB | Agronomy & Horticulture; Center for Biotechnology; Center for Plant Science Innovation | Plant Root Microbiome, Plant Abiotic Stress Tolerance, Microbial Diversity, Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology |
| Harkamal Walia | GCMB | Agronomy & Horticulture; Center for Plant Science Innovation | Plant Adaptation to Environmental Stresses |
Virology
| Faculty | Section | Department | Research Interests |
| Qingsheng Li | GCMB | Biological Sciences, Nebraska Center for Virology | HIV Transmission, Vaccine, and Prevention |
| Hideaki Moriyama | GCMB | Biological Sciences | Electrophysiology and Structural Biology; Molecular Biology and Biochemistry; Bioinformatics |
| Nicole Sexton | GCMB | Biological Sciences | Evolution, codon usage, and host-virus interactions of arthropod-borne viruses. Genetic robustness of RNA viruses. |
| Eric Weaver | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | Virology; Microbiology; Immunology |
| Luwen Zhang | GCMB | Biological Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | Viral Oncogenesis; Stem Cell Biology; Infectious Diseases; Innate Immunity |
| Samodha Fernando | GCMB | Animal Science; Food Science & Technology; Nebraska Food for Health Center; Gut Function Initiative | Microbiome; Host-Microbe Interactions; Microbe-Microbe Interactions; Antibiotic Resistance |
| Thomas Petro | GCMB | UNMC Oral Biology; Nebraska Center for Virology; Nebraska Center for Cell Signaling | Antiviral and Antitumor Immune Responses |
| James Van Etten | GCMB, PP | Plant Pathology; Nebraska Center for Virology | |
| Asit K. Pattnaik | GCMB | Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | Zika Virus Replication and Pathogenesis; Host Cell Functions in RNA Virus Replication, Antivirals, Vaccines, Interferons |
| Fernando Osorio | GCMB | Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | Pathogenesis and Protective Immunity of Animal Viruses, using animal models testing vaccines in their target species |
| Matt Wiebe | GCMB | Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | Molecular Biology of Poxviruses; Intrinsic Defenses Against Foreign DNA |
| Shi-Hua Xiang | GCMB | Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; Nebraska Center for Virology | Molecular Virology; Anti-Viral Research (Vaccines and Therapeutics) |