My training has been in insect chemosensory neurobiology, especially the physiological and anatomical correlates of gustation and olfaction. More recently, in collaboration with Chris Gillen and Drew Kerkhoff in Biology and Judy Holdener and Brad Hartlaub in Math, my students and I have been involved in a wide-ranging analysis of the morphology and physiology underlying metabolic scaling in insects. I came to Kenyon in 1990 from John Hildebrand's lab at Univ. of Arizona, where I was a post-doc. My previous training was at Duke (Ph.D.) and at Yale (B.S.).

Areas of Expertise

Neurobiology, mechanisms of perception and reaction to stimuli, physiological and anatomical bases of gustation (taste) in insects

Education

1984 Ph.D. Dept. of Zoology, Duke University
1979 B.S. in Biology, Yale University

Selected Publications

Gillen, C.M, C.R. Blair*, N.R. Heilman", M. Somple*, M. Stulberg*, R. Thombre*, N. Watson*, K.M. Gillen, and H. Itagaki (2006) The cation-chloride cotransporter, masBSC, is widely expressed in Manduca sexta tissues. Journal of Insect Physiology. 52:661-668 (pdf)

Wasserman, S.L.* and H. Itagaki (2003) The olfactory responses of the antenna and maxillary palp of the fleshfly, Neobellieria bullata (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), and their sensitivity to blockage of nitric oxide synthase. Journal of Insect Physiology. 49:271-280. (pdf)

Mitchell, B., H. Itagaki, and M.-P. Rivet (1999) Peripheral and central structures involved in insect gustation. Microscopy Research and Technique. 47:401-415. (pdf)

Courses Taught

Biol 109 -110 (Introduction to Experimental Biology)
Biol 113 (From Cell to Organism)
Biol 366 (Cell Biology)
Biol 367 (Experimental Cell Biology)
Biol 470 (Senior Seminar: Size and Scaling in Biological Systems) (with Dr. Siobhan Fennessy)
Biol 497 (Senior Honors Seminar) .
Biol 358 (Neurobiology)
Biol 359 (Experimental Neurobiology)