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.
- 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 and Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
- Kristine Callis-Duehl, Ph.D., director, Science Education and Outreach, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
- Kirk Czymmek, Ph.D., director, Advanced Bioimaging Laboratory at Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
- Christine Edwards, Ph.D., Stephen and Camilla Brauer Associate Scientist, Conservation Genetics Missouri Botanical Garden
- Andrea Eveland, Ph.D., principal investigator, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
- Sandy Leal, Ph.D., professor of biology, Harris-Stowe State University
- Carmel Martin-Fairey, Ph.D., assistant professor, Harris-Stowe State University
Secondary Appointment Members
- Kelly Lane-DeGraaf, Ph.D., associate dean of academic affairs, SLU College of Public Health and Social Justice
Former Affiliate Members
- Cheryl Asa, Ph.D., director of research, Reproductive and Behavioral Sciences, Saint Louis Zoo
- Joan E. Bauman, Ph.D., Saint Louis Zoo
- Thomas Croat, Ph.D., Schulze Curator of Botany Missouri Botanical Garden
- Anthony Dell, Ph.D., ecologist, National Great Rivers Research and Education Center
- Peter Goldblatt, Ph.D., curator emeritus, Africa and Madagascar, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Peter Hoch, Ph.D., curator, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Charles Hoessle, Ph.D., director emeritus, Saint Louis Zoo
- Kevin Kayser, Ph.D., senior director, Head of Upstream R&D, Millipore Sigma
- Peter Kevan, Ph.D., University of Guelph
- Peter Raven, Ph.D., president emeritus, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Mich Richardson, Ph.D., Missouri Botanical Garden
- Dorota Skowyra, Ph.D., Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine
- Gerald S. Zavorsky, Ph.D., Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Faculty Resources
Employee/Employment Forms
- Biology paper time sheet (PDF)
- Undergraduate teaching assistant application (PDF)
- Biology student worker hiring request form (PDF)