Graduate Faculty for the Ph.D. in Biology program (Doctoral Faculty) are listed alphabetically below under their respective departments. A brief description of their area of research expertise also is given.

Note: Only Doctoral Faculty listed on this page can serve as primary PhD Dissertation advisors.

• Lawrence S. Barden, Professor. Ph.D., University of Tennessee. Conservation biology, plant ecology, population ecology.
• Kenneth Bost, Belk Distinguished Professor. Ph.D., University of Mississippi Medical Center. Molecular and cellular understanding of the immune response, the interactions between the nervous and immune systems, and the mechanisms involved in initiation of mucosal immunity.
• Mark Clemens, Professor. Ph.D., St. Louis University. Vascular and metabolic physiology.
• Sandra Clinton, Visiting Assistant Professor
• Didier Dréau. Associate Professor. Ph.D., College of Agriculture of Rennes (France). Mechanisms of Cancer Metastasis, Vascular and Immune Interactions During Cancer Growth.
• Julie Goodliffe. Assistant Professor. Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University. Molecular Genetics of Cancer.
• Valery Grdzelishvili. Assistant Professor. PhD. Moscow State University. Molecular virology, virus-host interactions, virus-based vectors.
• Yvette Huet, Professor. Ph.D., University of Kansas Medical School. Reproductive and developmental biology.
• Martin Gunter Klotz, Professor & Chair. PhD. University of Jena  (Germany). Evolutionary and Genomic Microbiology. Molecular evolution and genetics of metabolic modules (the "inventory") and the ~omics & physiology of microbes involved in the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle.
• Larry J. Leamy, Professor. Ph.D., University of Illinois. Quantitative genetics.
• Ian Marriott, Professor. Ph.D., Tulane University. The initiation of immune responses.
• Pinku Mukherjee, Professor. Ph.D., University of London, UK. Cancer Biology and Immunology
• Dan A. Nelson, Research Associate Professor. Ph.D., Florida State University. Tachykinin expression and function.
• James D. Oliver, Cone Distinguished Professor. Ph.D., Georgetown University. Ecology, physiology, and metabolism of aquatic bacteria; biology of the human pathogen, Vibrio vulnificus.
• Matthew Parrow, Assistant Professor., Ph.D., North Carolina State University.  Eukaryotic microbial ecology and physiology; biology of harmful algae.
• Susan E. Peters, Associate Professor. Ph.D., University of California, Davis. Comparative vertebrate anatomy, behavioral and anatomic aspects of locomotion.
• Ken Piller, Research Associate Professor. Ph.D., University of Illinois, Chicago. Plant biotechnology, edible vaccine development.
• Christine Richardson, Associate Professor. Ph.D. DNA repair, chromosomal rearrangements, & hematopoietic malignancies.
• Amy Ringwood, Associate Professor. PhD., University of Hawaii. Environmental toxicology; biology and ecology of aquatic invertebrates.
• Stanley S. Schneider, Professor. Ph.D., University of California, Davis. Animal behavior; communication and foraging of the honeybee.
• Laura Schrum, Adjunct Associate Professor. Ph.D. Microbiology, North Carolina State University. Molecular mechanisms of liver fibrosis.
• Inna Sokolova, Associate Professor and Department Vice Chair of Research. Ph.D., 1997 Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg. Ecophysiology and ecotoxicology of marine mollusks; metabolic response to environmental stress.
• Todd R. Steck, Associate Professor. Ph.D., University of Rochester. Microbial molecular genetics, environmental microbiology, bacterial source tracking.
• Shan Yan, Assistant Professor. Ph.D., Fudan University, People’s Republic of China.  Developmental biology
• Jian Zhang, Associate Professor. Ph.D., University of South Carolina Columbia. Vascular and molecular physiology.

Carolinas Medical Center

Adjunct/Associate Faculty - Research Centers for the complete listing of CMC Faculty.

Department of Anthropology

Department of Chemistry

Dr. Jerry Troutman, Assistant Professor. Ph.D., University of Kentucky Medical Center. Bacterial Polysaccharides.

Department of Civil Engineering

Dr. Helene Hilger, Associate Professor. Ph.D., North Carolina State University. Applications of microbiology to environmental engineering: methane oxidizers in landfill cover soil, pathogens in reclaimed wastewater, anaerobic digestion of municipal solid waste, biological nutrient removal, microbial ecology of soil biofilms.

Department of Public Health Sciences

Dr. Andrew Harver, Chair and Professor, Ph.D., Ohio University. Human electrophysiology,
respiratory sensation, and the mechanics of breathing.

Dr. Larissa Huber, Assistant Professor, Ph.D. Emory University. Reproductive epidemiology, specifically the role of obesity in contraceptive failure, contraceptive trends, and reasons for discontinuing contraception.

 Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics

Department of Kinesiology

Dr. Susan Arthur, Assistant Professor. PhD., University of Toledo. The influence of classic developmental signaling pathways on young and aged adult skeletal muscle stem cells using physiological stimuli models of muscle injury (injurious exercise, in situ skeletal muscle lengthening, synergistic ablation).

Dr. Reuben Howden, Assistant Professor.

Dr. Tricia Hubbard Turner, Assistant Professor. Ph.D., Penn State Univ. Chronic ankle instability, mechanical instability, lower extremity pathology, and evidence based medical practice.

Dr. Erik Wikstrom, Assistant Professor.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Gloria Elliott, Assistant Professor. Ph.D. Michigan State University. cryo and anhydrobiology; cell and tissue preservation; protein stabilization; green chemistry and engineering (biocompatible materials development and biofuels).

Department of Physics and Optical Sciences

Dr. Yuri Nesmelov, Assistant Professor.

Dr. Irina Nesmelova, Assistant Professor. Ph.D. Kazan State University, Russia. Protein structural biology. I am using NMR spectroscopy and MD s Ultimately, the goal is to use this knowledge to design molecular agents that can be used for medical purposes.