Faculty Research Interests

Kathryn Edwards

Research Interests: Plant physiology and biochemistry. Research pursues the identification and functions of stretch-activated ion-channels in cell membranes; focusing on their possible roles in osmoregulation and gravity perception. A feminist with writings on feminist pedagogy and science, reproduction, and lesbian community and power.

Edwards Home Page [E-mail: edwardsr@kenyon.edu]

Siobhan Fennessy

Research Interests: Aquatic and Restoration Ecology. General interests are the structure and function of wetland ecosystems. Research centers on role of aquatic plants in wetlands, the use of wetland plant communities in assessing ecosystem disturbance, and exploring techniques to restore degraded wetlands. The links between hydrology and aquatic ecosystem function are stressed.

[Fennessy Home Page] [E-mail: fennessym@kenyon.edu ]

Chris Gillen

Research Interests: Animal physiology and molecular biology. Research uses a combination of physiological and molecular biological approaches to explore the mechanisms of ion transport. Invertebrate model systems including fiddler crabs, crayfish, and the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, are used. A new project, in collaboration with biologists, mathematicians, and statisticians at Kenyon, is investigating molecular and physiological consequences of size in Manduca sexta.

[C. Gillen Home Page] [E-mail: gillenc@kenyon.edu ]

Kathy Gillen

Kathy earned her doctorate studying the effects of varying concentrations of cellular retinoic acid binding protein on the differentiation of a mammalian tissue culture cell line. For her post-doctoral research she determined a region sufficient to target the beta subunit of a yeast G-protein to the plasma membrane. She is particularly interested in signal transduction and her favorite enzymes are kinases.

[K. Gillen Home Page] [E-mail: gillenk@kenyon.edu ]

Pat Heithaus

Pat has been trained in developmental biology and tropical and marine ecology. Pat received her Masters Degree from the University of Iowa. She developed an introductory biology tutorial program at Kirkwood Community College (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and she has taught at Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Kenyon College. At Kenyon, she is an Instructor in Bio 109-110, Introduction to Experimental Biology and has been involved in the development of the Kenyon Center for Environmental Study.

[P. Heithaus Home Page ] [E-mail: heithausp@kenyon.edu ]

Ray Heithaus

Research Interests: Ecology. Research pursues an understanding of the interactions of plants and animals in seed dispersal. Past work included study of bats and pollination systems in Costa Rica. Present research focuses on seed dispersal by ants, ant social behavior, and the genetic structure of fish populations in the Kokosing River watershed. Past Editor of the journal Biotropica.

[R. Heithaus Home Page ] [E-mail: heithaus@kenyon.edu ]

Karen Hicks

Research Interests: Plant developmental genetics. Daylength, or photoperiod, affects the onset of reproductive development in many flowering plants, and the mechanism of this regulation is thought to involve an internal biological clock. A combination of genetic, molecular biological, and biochemical approaches are being used to elucidate this mechanism in Arabidopsis thalinana, a member of the mustard family. Current projects include the isolation and characterization of mutants which are defective in photoperiodic regulation, and the cloning of new genes identified by mutation.

[Hicks Home Page ] [E-mail: hicksk@kenyon.edu ]

Harry Itagaki

Research Interests: Neurobiology and physiology. One thread of research examines how olfactory and gustatory information are processed in the brain of various insect species. Another more recent thread is looking at the molecular and physiological consequences of increased size in a model insect, Manduca sexta. This work is done in close collaboration with Chris Gillen in the department.

[Itagaki Home Page ][E-mail: itagaki@kenyon.edu ]

Andrew Kerkhoff

Research Interests: Plant ecology, ecological theory, and macroecology. Generally interested in the the interplay between the functional and phylogenetic diversity of plant communities and the dynamics of ecosystems. Current research is focused on "scaling-up" from the functional attributes of individual plants to the structure and dynamics of whole populations and communities. Studies span from the physiology of leaves to global patterns of primary productivity, and use both theoretical models and field surveys to address questions concerning the evolution and ecology of terrestrial plants.

[Kerkhoff Home Page ][E-mail: kerkhoffa@kenyon.edu ]

Robert Mauck

Research Interests: Behavioral ecology and animal behavior. Have long been interested in the life history trade-offs faced by long-lived animals. Much of my work has been with a colony of Leach's storm-petrel, Oceanodroma leucorhoa, a pelagic seabird breeding in the Bay of Fundy. Recent work also includes the balance between predation risk and foraging in barnacles.

[Mauck Home Page][E-mail: mauckr@kenyon.edu ]

Wade Powell

Research Interests: Molecular biology, comparative biochemistry, environmental toxicology, molecular evolution. Research seeks to elucidate the molecular responses of aquatic animals to their environment. Current work investigates the mechanisms of dioxin insensitivity in the frog Xenopus laevis.

[Powell Home Page ] [E-mail: powellw@kenyon.edu ]

Joan Slonczewski

Research Interests: Microbiology and genetics. Research investigates the molecular basis of pH regulation in Escherichia coli and Helicobacter pylori, using state-of-the-art proteomic and genomic technology. She is also an internationally awarded science fiction writer of three books.

[Slonczewski Home Page] [E-mail: slonczewski@kenyon.edu ]