Biology at University of Central Florida

32 faculty and 0 courses in Biology at University of Central Florida.

Faculty

• Eric Hoffman, Department Chair & Professor h-index 114
  Notable: “Dystrophin: The protein product of the duchenne muscular dystrophy locus” (1987) · 4,688 citations
• Linda Walters, Pegasus Professor h-index 41
  S) Human impacts in the marine environment. Both pure ecology questions and goal-based conservation issues for a wide range of marine and estuarine habitats. Research News Research Our lab, called CEELAB (Coastal and Estuarine Ecology Lab
  Notable: “Microplastic accumulation in the gastrointestinal tracts in birds of prey in central Florida, USA” (2020) · 279 citations
• John Weishampel, Dean, College of Graduate Studies and Professor h-index 36
  S) Landscape ecology (how landscape pattern influences ecological processes and biodiversity). Research Publications News Research Dr. Weishampel’s primary research interest is in the field of landscape ecology, i.e., how landscape pattern
  Notable: “Estimation of tropical forest structural characteristics using large-footprint lidar” (2002) · 612 citations
• Michelle Gaither, Associate Professor h-index 36
  S) Marine biology, ichthyology, genomics, population genetics, deep-sea, coral reefs, eDNA Research News Research The research in my lab is centered on the evolution, ecology, and origin of biodiversity in marine fishes. We are a highly co
  Notable: “Comparative phylogeography of the ocean planet” (2016) · 279 citations
• Christen Fleming, Assistant Professor h-index 33
  Of the Ecoinformatics Lab include animal movement, species distribution, phylogenetic evolution, and population dynamics. This research is highly interdisciplinary, in nature, and involves collaboration with applied mathematicians, statisti
  Notable: “Moving in the Anthropocene: Global reductions in terrestrial mammalian movements” (2018) · 1,290 citations
• Graham Worthy, Pegasus Professor and Provosts Distinguished Research Professor h-index 33
  S) Physiological ecology of marine mammals through the study of their bioenergetics, feeding ecology, and habitat utilization. BACKGROUND PUBLICATIONS News BACKGROUND Graham Worthy is a UCF Pegasus Professor, Provosts Distinguished Profess
  Notable: “Metabolic rates of seals and whales” (1986) · 203 citations
• Anna Savage, Professor h-index 32
  S) Immunogenetics, functional genomics, disease ecology, molecular evolution, ecological immunology, population genetics Research Interests News Research Interests My research aims to understand the evolutionary potential of natural popula
  Notable: “A versatile enzyme immunoassay for the determination of progestogens in feces and serum” (2001) · 243 citations
• Lisa G. Chambers, Professor, Assistant Director of Graduate Program h-index 24
  S) biogeochemistry, wetland and coastal ecology, sea level rise, soil science, water quality Research Interests Research Interests My research focuses on the biogeochemical cycling of elements in the environment that are vital for life, es
  Notable: “Effect of salinity-altering pulsing events on soil organic carbon loss along an intertidal wetland gradient: a laboratory experiment” (2013) · 223 citations
• Joshua King, Professor h-index 23
  S) Dr. King’s primary interests are in community ecology, invasion biology, social insects, and conservation science aimed at understanding the ecosystem services of insects. Research Publications News Research In my lab we study com
  Notable: “Climate fails to predict wood decomposition at regional scales” (2014) · 365 citations
• Kate Mansfield, Professor, Davis-Shine Endowed Professor of Conservation Biology h-index 22
  S) Marine science with an emphasis on sea turtle ecology, behavior, habitat use, and conservation. RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS HIGHLIGHTS EDUCATION News RESEARCH Dr. Mansfield directs the UCF Marine Turtle Research Group (MTRG). Her research pro
  Notable: “Satellite tracking reveals a dichotomy in migration strategies among juvenile loggerhead turtles in the Northwest Atlantic” (2009) · 174 citations
• Robert Fitak, Assistant Professor h-index 20
  Notable: “OptM: estimating the optimal number of migration edges on population trees using Treemix” (2021) · 397 citations
• Barbara Sharanowski, Professor h-index 19
  S) Phylogenetic systematics of Hymenoptera, particularly parasitic wasps in the family Braconidae, evolution of insects, evolution of genomes, understanding patterns of biodiversity, integrated pest management, and biocontrol. Research Int
  Notable: “Insect succession and decomposition patterns on shaded and sunlit carrion in Saskatchewan in three different seasons” (2008) · 205 citations
• Jeffrey Sosa-Calvo, Assistant Professor h-index 19
  Publications Highlights Education News Research Areas I am an organismal biologist broadly interested in questions related to the evolution of symbioses, evolution of agriculture in insects, and patterns of insect diversity. My lab primaril
  Notable: “Dry habitats were crucibles of domestication in the evolution of agriculture in ants” (2017) · 199 citations
• Laurence von Kalm, Associate Professor, Director of Graduate Program h-index 15
  Es on Drosophila (small fruit fly), studying the roles of polyamine transport and methionine restriction in cancer and the aging process. His research has been funded by external agencies such as the Department of the Army and the National
  Notable: “Cellular Interaction and Toxicity Depend on Physicochemical Properties and Surface Modification of Redox-Active Nanomaterials” (2013) · 205 citations
• Geoffrey Cook, Associate Professor, Assessment Coordinator h-index 14
  S) distribution, abundance, and dynamics of species inhabiting coastal marine ecosystems Research Interests News Research Interests A primary goal of Dr. Cook’s research program is to better our understanding of the natural and anthropogen
  Notable: “The EBM-DPSER Conceptual Model: Integrating Ecosystem Services into the DPSIR Framework” (2013) · 256 citations
• Zachary Emberts, Assistant Professor h-index 14
  Publications Highlights Education Research Area
  Notable: “The ecology and evolution of autotomy” (2019) · 93 citations
• Christina Kwapich, Assistant Professor h-index 14
  Research Publications Books News Research Areas Social insect behavior, entomology, life history evolution, insect nests and nest architecture, seed harvesting ants and granivory, demography, production ecology, myrmecophily and myrmecomorp
  Notable: “Subterranean transport and deposition of quartz by ants in sandy sites relevant to age overestimation in optical luminescence dating” (2012) · 75 citations
• Cynthia Bayer, Associate Lecturer h-index 12
  Notable: “The Drosophila Broad-Complex encodes a family of related proteins containing zinc fingers.” (1991) · 445 citations
• Cody Coyotee Howard, Assistant Professor h-index 7
  Publications Highlights Education News Research Areas Research in the Bulbous Lab broadly centers on understanding the processes that lead to the convergent evolution of traits, and how this relates to disparities in species richness across
  Notable: “The monocotyledonous underground: global climatic and phylogenetic patterns of geophyte diversity” (2019) · 77 citations
• Matthew Tye, Lecturer h-index 7
  Notable: “Resource‐ and pollinator‐mediated selection on floral traits” (2016) · 49 citations
• Matthew Atkinson, Lecturer h-index 6
  Notable: “Novel quantitative PCR assay specific for the emerging Perkinsea amphibian pathogen reveals seasonal infection dynamics” (2018) · 18 citations
• Ken Fedorka, Professor h-index 3
  S) Eco immunology / disease ecology, evolutionary genetics, sexual selection, sexual conflict, and life history evolution Research Publications Highlights Education News Research
  Notable: “Immune system activation affects male sexual signal and reproductive potential in crickets” (2006) · 54 citations
• Christa Diercksen, Senior Lecturer
• Frank Logiudice, Senior Instructor
• Gregg Klowden, Senior Lecturer
• Michele Yeargain, Instructor
• Nicole Zampieri, Assistant Professor
  Publications Highlights Education Research Areas Our lab aims to understand how disturbances, such as fire and cyclones, shape the structure, function, and resilience of savanna and woodland ecosystems under global change. We primarily focu
• Pam Thomas, Instructor
  S) My general interests include the study of human medical genetics. Biology Biological Sciences Bldg. 4110 Libra Drive Orlando, Florida Important Links Career Center COLLEGE OF SCIENCES , UCF Anthropol
• Rani Vajravelu, Senior Lecturer
  Angiosperm plant taxonomy. She contributed to the Flora of the Tamilnadu Carnatic , documenting sixty-five plant families, and was a collaborator on the Guide to the Flora of Florida (1998). An accomplished botanical illustrator, Dr. Vaj
• Rebecca Mroczek, Director of Undergraduate Program, Lecturer
• Walter Sotero, Senior Lecturer
• Will Crampton, Professor, Associate Chair
  Publications Highlights News Research Interests Dr. Crampton’s research program investigates the ecological, behavioral, and evolutionary mechanisms that generate and regulate species diversity. With more than 6,000 species, Neotropical fre

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.