24 faculty and 40 courses in Biology at Drexel University.
- Kevin Smith, Associate Teaching Professor h-index 45
Notable: “A high-density consensus map of barley linking DArT markers to SSR, RFLP and STS loci and agricultural traits” (2006) · 366 citations
- Michael O'Connor, Professor Emerita h-index 43
Thermal, hydric, & energetic effects on the activity and distribution of reptiles and amphibians Physical constraints on heat and mass exchange by reptiles and amphbians Physiological and physical constraints on gas exchange in sea tur
Notable: “Composition, variability, and temporal stability of the intestinal microbiota of the elderly” (2010) · 1,743 citations
- Sean O'Donnell, Professor h-index 43
The O’Donnell Lab Brain plasticity and the evolution of brain structure Social behavior and division of labor, especially of eusocial Hymenoptera Thermal ecology and thermal physiology Network models of social group organization Beha
Notable: “Spontaneous Neural Activity Is Required for the Establishment and Maintenance of the Olfactory Sensory Map” (2004) · 420 citations
- Donna Murasko, Professor Emerita h-index 38
Although my initial training was in tumor immunology, the focus of my research for more than 20 years examined changes in immune response with increasing age. Utilizing both mouse models and human samples, my colleagues and I investigated
Notable: “Role of humoral and cell-mediated immunity in protection from influenza disease after immunization of healthy elderly” (2002) · 247 citations
- Nianli Sang, Associate Professor h-index 35
Understanding of cells’ response to insufficiency of oxygen, glucose and glutamine supplies, a condition commonly occurring in solid tumors and ischemic lesions Cellular level sensing systems for glucose and glutamine How oncogenic signali
Notable: “MAPK Signaling Up-regulates the Activity of Hypoxia-inducible Factors by Its Effects on p300” (2003) · 367 citations
- Aleister Saunders, Executive Vice Provost for Research & Innovation; Professor h-index 30
Es on identifying and characterizing genes and pathways involved in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis. Utilizing a variety of AD models, his work has been funded by NIH, NSF, and foundations. As Drexel’s Executive Vice Provost fo
Notable: “Cu(II) Potentiation of Alzheimer Aβ Neurotoxicity” (1999) · 760 citations
- Ryan Petrie, Associate Professor h-index 25
The Petrie Dish: Research Lab Extracellular matrix Cell motility Cytoskeleton Mechanotransduction Cell-matrix interactions Cell biology Intracellular signaling Bio: Ryan Petrie, PhD, received a BS in biochemistry from the University of Vic
Notable: “Random versus directionally persistent cell migration” (2009) · 957 citations
- Jerome Ricard, Assistant Teaching Professor h-index 22
Ephrins Spinal cord injury Neuroinflammation Cell death Dependence receptors Pain Bio: Dr. Jerome Ricard, an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Biology, studies neuroscience in Drexel Professor John Bethea’s laboratory
Notable: “Pectin methylesterase, metal ions and plant cell-wall extension. The role of metal ions in plant cell-wall extension” (1991) · 154 citations
- Felice Elefant, Professor h-index 19
The Elefant Lab Understanding epigenetic mechanisms that govern higher order brain function via chromatin packaging in neurons Understanding the role(s) of specific HATs in higher order brain function and neurodegenerative disorders such a
Notable: “Anti-inflammatory activity of flavonols via inhibiting MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways in RAW264.7 macrophages” (2022) · 83 citations
- Tali Gidalevitz, Associate Professor; Co-Director, Graduate Biology Program h-index 18
Protein misfolding diseases, such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's diseases The mechanism of differential neuronal susceptibility to protein misfolding The role of natural genetic variation and physiological stress in proteostasis Maintaining
Notable: “Progressive Disruption of Cellular Protein Folding in Models of Polyglutamine Diseases” (2006) · 651 citations
- Megan V. Phifer-Rixey, Associate Professor of Biology h-index 16
The Phifer-Rixey Lab Evolution Genetics Adaptation Integrative Biology Urban Climate Bio: Megan Phifer-Rixey is an associate professor in the Department of Biology at Drexel University. She is an evolutionary biologist, and her research is
Notable: “Transmission modes of the mammalian gut microbiota” (2018) · 305 citations
- Ali Afify, Assistant Professor h-index 16
Insect olfaction Sensory Neurobiology Mosquito oviposition Malaria Bio: Ali Afify is an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at Drexel University. Ali is interested in investigating the olfactory neural basis of different mosqu
Notable: “Machine-learning techniques and their applications in manufacturing” (2005) · 171 citations
- Alison E. Moyer, Assistant Teaching Professor h-index 11
Molecular paleontology Anatomy Microbiology SEA-PHAGES Bacteriophages STEM education Bio: After my time as an undergraduate at Drexel where I spent much time proudly helping to unearth one of the world’s largest dinosaurs to ever wal
Notable: “A Gigantic, Exceptionally Complete Titanosaurian Sauropod Dinosaur from Southern Patagonia, Argentina” (2014) · 187 citations
- Kari Lenhart, Assistant Professor; Co-Director, Graduate Biology Program h-index 5
The Lenhart Lab Niche-regulation of stem cell behaviors Genetics and long-term live imaging How somatic stem cells control germline stem cell (GSC) biology How somatic cells regulate restoration of GSCs following stress How soma-germline i
Notable: “Somatic Cell Encystment Promotes Abscission in Germline Stem Cells following a Regulated Block in Cytokinesis” (2015) · 79 citations
- Meshagae Hunte-Brown, Teaching Professor h-index 4
I am broadly interested in food web and ecosystem ecology. I have used stable isotopes as a tool for understanding aspects of food webs and ecosystem ecology like community structure and dynamics ecology, with a view to develop better unde
Notable: “The effects of amphibian population declines on the structure and function of Neotropical stream ecosystems” (2006) · 373 citations
- Usha Sankar, Associate Teaching Professor h-index 4
Human physiology Pedagogical research Air quality and health outcomes Bio: Usha Sankar moved to Drexel from Fordham University, where she had been teaching since 2011. At Fordham she was a co-founder of Project FRESH Air, a citizen science
Notable: “Applications of microarrays with toxicologically relevant genes (tox genes) for the evaluation of chemical toxicants in Sprague Dawley rats in vivo and human hepatocytes in vitro” (2004) · 109 citations
- Cecilie Goodrich, Professor Emeritus
Development of simple behaviors after birth in relation to known developmental events in the mouse brain Bio: Trained as a systems physiologist, I am most interested in regulatory mechanisms, and particularly regulation involving the neuro
- Denise Garcia, Associate Professor
Neuroscience, UC Irvine, 1998 Research Interests: The Garcia Lab The cellular interactions that facilitate the establishment of neural circuits The structural plasticity and reorganization of the central nervous system (CNS) in the healt
- Jacob A. Russell, Professor
Roles of bacterial symbionts in ant evolution Function, stability, and dynamics of heritable symbiont communities in aphids Genomic mechanisms driving correlations between symbiosis and insect ecology Coevolutionary histories between insec
- James Mungin, Assistant Teaching Professor
Health disparities Biomedical science Molecular biology Bio: James Mungin, PhD, (pronouns they, them) is a biomedical scientist and educator dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary research and inclusive excellence in STEM. They earned th
- Jennifer S. Stanford, Professor; Department Head
STEM Education Effective and Inclusive Teaching Evidence-Based Teaching Faculty and Future Faculty Pedagogical Development Experiential Learning Epigenetics Learning and Memory Bio: Dr. Jennifer Stanford is a Professor in Biology, Co-Direc
- Laura Duwel, Assistant Department Head, Teaching Professor
Immunology & Microbiology Research and Experience Overview Undergraduate Research Graduate Research Faculty Directory Innovation Incubator Publications Latest News Faculty and Staff Resources A-Z Index For Media Careers Privacy & L
- Manuel Seman-Senderos, Assistant Teaching Professor
- Monica Togna, Teaching Professor
My research interests largely revolve around methods of implementing my teaching goals of how to provide individualized learning to large groups of students, developing and utilizing active learning instructional strategies, and making con
Roster/catalog compiled from the college’s public directory. Faculty counts are directory headcounts; the named list may be a subset. h-index shown only for ORCID-backed or high-confidence OpenAlex matches. Data as of 2026-07-02.