Department of Biology

Yves Brun
Clyde Culbertson Professor of Biology

My laboratory studies the mechanisms that control bacterial cell polarity and differentiation, the adhesion of bacteria to surfaces, and biofilm formation. My research benefits from an outstanding Microbiology Program, from state-of-the-art research facilities, and from a superb environment for multidisciplinary research. I collaborate with researchers from Chemistry, Physics, Bioinformatics, and Genomics. Thanks to interactions with members of our top ranked Evolutionary Biology Program, we are now using comparative genomics approaches to study the evolution of regulatory networks.

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Greg Demas
Associate Professor of Biology

The primary focus of my laboratory is the study of neuroendocrine-immune interactions and behavior in ecologically relevant contexts. We address our research questions using an array of experimental approaches (both lab and field) and with a wide range of state-of-the art techniques. IU is one of the leading universities in the area of animal behavior. In addition, my colleagues within IU Biology take an integrative, multidisciplinary approach to their research that allows us to pursue productive and enjoyable collaborations to address our broad research questions in new and creative ways.

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Viola Ellison
Assistant Professor of Biology

My lab is interested in the Replication Factor C (RFC) proteins, a family of structurally related, multi-subunit enzymes that function in three aspects of chromosome metabolism: DNA replication, sister chromatid cohesion, and DNA repair. Lack of RFCs not only impairs the above pathways, but also the cell cycle checkpoints that prevent genome instability, a requisite for carcinogenesis. Using biochemistry and cell biology, my lab seeks to identify the RFC-dependent steps in these pathways that are key for cell cycle surveillance and exploitable for the design of novel cancer therapeutics.

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Patricia Foster
Professor of Biology

Research in my laboratory focuses on the genetic material – how and when does it change and how and when does it stay the same. Changes in the genome called mutations, have both a good side and a bad side. If the genetic material never mutated, evolution would stop, but mutations can destroy functions that an organisms needs to survive. In people, mutations birth defects, genetic disorders, and cancer. Using molecular and genetic techniques with our model bacterium, Escherichia coli, my students and I have been studying an enzyme, called DNA polymerase IV, that makes mistakes when it copies DNA. We have discovered that this polymerase responds to stress by increasing the rate at which mutations are made, providing a mechanism by which the cells might be able to mutate themselves out of trouble. The diversity of the IU Biology Department make this an ideal place to do research like ours that encompasses both molecular biology and evolution.

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Clay Fuqua
Professor of Biology

Groups of bacteria are more than the sum of their parts, and single cells can interact in complex ways at multiple levels. Researchers in my lab study microbial interactions, using molecular genetic, genomic, and biochemical approaches. We examine multicellular bacterial communication (quorum-sensing) and congregation (biofilms), and how these interactions affect microbial behavior (eg. horizontal gene transfer and pathogenesis). Our research benefits greatly from collaborations with outstanding IU scientists in microbiology, ecology, biochemistry, environmental sciences and physics. 

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Jim Goodson
Associate Professor of Biology

The goals of my lab's research are to 1) identify neural mechanisms that are fundamental to the regulation of vertebrate social behaviors, and 2) elucidate ways in which those mechanisms vary in relation to individual and species differences in behavioral phenotype. The evolution of sociality (grouping) and mating system are topics of particular interest. We work mostly with songbirds, both in the field and the lab, and use a diversity of techniques to examine neuroendocrine functions, socially-induced gene expression, and chemical neuroanatomy. Indiana University is a major hub for integrative studies of behavior, and I benefit greatly from my collaborations in Biology and across the IU campus.

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Roger Hangarter
Class of 1968 Chancellor's Professor of Biology

I am interested in the physiological and molecular mechanisms by which plants perceive and respond to environmental stimuli like light and gravity, which have profound effects on plant development. We use the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana as our experimental system along with a wide range of genetic, molecular and physiological approaches. The IU Biology department, with its rich diversity of resources and distinguished research labs, is an ideal place to engage in the pursuit of innovative biological research.

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Rich Hardy
Associate Professor of Biology

My lab is focused on understanding the interactions between positive sense RNA viruses and their host. To this end we use a number of molecular, biochemical, and proteomic approaches to examine viral and host components in macromolecular complexes required for viral protein synthesis and genome replication. We have also developed a novel system in which virus replication can be analyzed in Drosophila allowing genetic analysis of host response to virus infection and host genes required by the virus for replication. These studies are facilitated by collaborations with other IU scientists in the Department of Biology, the NCGG, and the CGB.

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Laura Hurley
Assistant Professor of Biology

The interests of our lab lie in the interaction of sensory systems and behavior, particularly in how internal state influences sensory processing through neurochemical signals such as serotonin. We pursue these interests at many levels of analysis, from serotonin receptors and their effects on neural networks, to the behavioral situations that trigger increases in serotonin levels. Our focus on this type of situation-dependent regulation of the auditory system has implications both for how animals perceive auditory signals in natural environments, and for clinical questions on the link between serotonin and auditory dysfunction. Our multidisciplinary colleagues and the supportive research environment across the IUB campus have helped us expand our work into these exciting new areas.

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Roger Innes
Professor and Chair of Biology

Research in my lab addresses two fundamental questions in plant biology. How do plants detect pathogens, and how does pathogen detection lead to activation of defenses? We are taking a multidisciplinary approach to address these questions, ranging from structural biology, to classical genetics, to comparative genomics. These diverse approaches are made possible by the excellent core facilities at Indiana University and the tremendous diversity of our faculty. Our research will enable development of disease resistant crop plants that will require less energy and less pesticides to produce.

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Daniel Kearns
Assistant Professor of Biology

My lab explores the regulation of bacterial motility. The bacteria we study move by rotating propeller-like flagella. The lab uses classical and molecular genetics combined with cytology and biochemistry to characterize new structural components of the flagellum and new transcriptional regulators that govern flagellar gene expression. We benefit from the wealth of outstanding technical and intellectual resources of our colleagues both inside and outside of the microbiology program.

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Ellen Ketterson
Distinguished Professor of Biology

My students and I are fascinated by animal behavior, ecology and evolution. Our research addresses the role of hormones in the evolution of life histories, sexual dimorphism, and phenotypic integration. We focus on the behavior and physiology of songbirds, and we do much of our work in the field. We ask questions like the following: If testosterone is such a powerful hormone, why don't males make more of it? The strong group in behavior at IU makes it easy for students to learn from several mentors and to use a broad array of field and laboratory techniques in their work.

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Soni Lacefield
Assistant Professor of Biology

We use budding yeast to study chromosome segregation in both mitosis and meiosis. Our work addresses questions of how chromosomes are properly attached to the bipolar spindle, how errors in attachment are sensed, how the cell cycle stops to correct those errors, and how the cell cycle continues after an error has been repaired. We use a combination of approaches to study these questions: live-cell microscopy, molecular biology, genetics, and biochemistry. At IU, we greatly benefit from an outstanding microscopy facility and from colleagues who share our interests in the cell cycle.

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Melanie Marketon
Assistant Professor of Biology

My lab is interested in pathogenic host-microbe interactions. Our model organism is Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague. Our multidisciplinary approach to understanding pathogenesis utilizes bacterial and eukaryotic genetic tools, biochemistry, cell biology, and animal models of infection. My lab is new, so there are many opportunities for independent research projects, which can be tailored toward your own strengths and interests. Here at IU, the students, post-docs, and faculty are very supportive and willing to lend a helping hand. That, in addition to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, helps to foster an exciting and collaborative environment, making the research possibilities in my lab virtually limitless.

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Scott Michaels
Associate Professor of Biology

I am interested in how differentiating cells decide between alternative fates using the floral transition in Arabidopsis, which is regulated by both internal and environmental signals. Our lab uses a wide range of approaches including mutant screens, reverse genetics, microarrays, and protein interaction studies. The IU Biology Department is a wonderful setting for my lab. In addition to having five laboratories that utilize Arabidopsis as a model system, the department is home to a stellar group of scientists performing cutting-edge research in a vast array of organisms.

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Tai Min
Associate Professor of Biology

My research focuses on understanding the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms of normal and dysfunctional neurons in brain. To this end, we are using various techniques as well as model systems including cell cultures, mouse, and Drosophila. A tradition of excellent research, state-of-art facilities, and the Drosophila Stock Center makes IU Biology an ideal setting for us. I also collaborate with people in the Physics department to develop new paradigms for understanding the mechanisms of learning and memory, as well as researchers in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. 

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Armin Moczek
Associate Professor of Biology

Work in my lab addresses a fundamental question in biology: how do major novel traits originate and diversify in nature? Specifically, what has to happen genetically, developmentally, and ecologically for major new traits to arise and spread within populations? We combine genetic approaches with developmental manipulations and behavioral studies, focusing on insects in general and beetles in particular. IU Biology is an ideal home for us given the incredible depth and breadth of research conducted by its members and the department's stellar record in integrative, cross-disciplinary work.

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Tuli Mukhopadhyay
Assistant Professor of Biology

My research focuses on determining the molecular interactions that are required for efficient assembly and release of infectious virus particles; that is, how are new virus particle put together and released efficiently from an infected cell. We are particularly interested in enveloped, RNA viruses and use Sindbis, an alphavirus, as our model system. Our daily research utilizes a combination of genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, and structural approaches to determine what regulates alphavirus assembly. The state-of-the-art electron and light microscopy facilities, the Physical Biochemistry Instrument Center, the National Center for Glycomics & Glycoproteomics and the expertise of our collegaues and collaborators in the microbiology, developmental biology and biochemistry programs provide a stimulating environment for our research.

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David Nelson
Assistant Professor of Biology

The primary question my research addresses is: how do pathogenic microbes subvert the immune systems of their hosts and cause disease? Specifically, we study bacteria in the genus C. trachomatis, multiple variants of which are important human pathogens. Chlamydiae are genetically intractable, therefore, a major focus of our efforts is generating novel tools to facilitate dissection of chlamydial-host interactions. Pathogenesis research is necessarily a cross disciplinary endeavor, and the broad expertise in the IU Department of Biology in model organisms, microbiology and genomics provides an excellent environment for my research.

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Richard Phillips
Assistant Professor of Biology

My research seeks to better understand how plants and soil microbes influence ecosystem processes. Of particular interest is how root-microbial interactions influence carbon and nutrient cycling in the wake of global environmental change. I use a suite of experimental approaches that integrate field observations with controlled environmental systems to address questions that intersect plant physiological ecology and soil microbial ecology. In joining the Biology faculty, my research program will be greatly strengthened by the breadth of existing research in the department, and by the integrative and interdisciplinary nature of the EEB and Environmental Sciences programs.

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Heather Reynolds
Associate Professor of Biology

My lab studies plant-environment interactions, seeking to understand the mechanisms shaping plant and microbial community diversity, ecosystem functioning, and ecosystem response to environmental change, and to apply this knowledge to ecological restoration and sustainable agriculture.  Our studies encompass competition, coexistence, herbivory, allelopathy, nutrient cycling, and plant-soil-microbe relationships.  We conduct lab, greenhouse and field studies in grassland and forest systems, using tools and techniques from plant and microbial ecology, soil science, and molecular biology. We regularly collaborate within IU Biology’s outstanding plant-soil-microbial ecology group.

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Greg Velicer
Associate Professor of Biology

I want to understand how cooperative behavior succeeds among microbes, particularly in the soil-dwelling bacterial predator Myxococcus xanthus. This species swarms and feeds socially and develops into multicellular fruiting bodies when it runs out of food. To better understand the evolution and ecology of bacterial social life, we conduct evolution experiments with Myxococcus in the lab, investigate the molecular basis of social adaptations, and analyze natural variation in social traits. The outstanding EEB and Microbiology programs at IU make it an excellent community for our research. 

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Mike Wade
Distinguished Professor of Biology

I am interested in how evolutionary forces produce adaptations based in complex gene interactions. I am especially interested in the simultaneous action of different kinds of selection, including natural and sexual selection, and kin and group selection. We are pursuing a number of topics including speciation genetics, host-symbiont and host-pathogen coevolution, cooperation and conflict, the interaction of maternal and zygotic genes, sociality in bacteria, and role reversal in sea horses. We use a wide range of organisms and methods, ranging from mathematical models and computer simulations to field observations and manipulative experiments, to genetic and genomic molecular studies.

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Andrew Zelhof
Assistant Professor of Biology

My lab focuses on the fluctuating world of membrane organelles. In particular, we are addressing how photoreceptor cells reorganize their apical membrane to create elaborate structures critical for function. We use a combination of genetic, cellular and developmental approaches to tease apart mechanisms required for the establishment and maintenance of these structures. As a new arrival to IU Biology I look forward to the numerous collaborative possibilities with my fellow Drosophila researchers and will take full advantage of the entire research breadth of the department. 

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