SIB Directory
This is a list of faculty that have historically accepted undergraduates into their labs for IB 390 or 490 credit. This list does NOT indicate that faculty currently have openings in their labs. Students must contact faculty individually to learn about potential openings in the lab.
IB 390/IB 490 Faculty
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Ainsworth, Elizabeth
ainswort@illinois.edu |
Professor Plant Biology, PEEC Plant physiological and molecular responses to global change, photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism |
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Allan, Brian
ballan@illinois.edu |
Associate Professor Entomology, PEEC Ecology of infectious diseases |
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Alleyne, Marianne
vanlaarh@illinois.edu |
Research Scientist; Director of Online Teaching and Learning Entomology, School of Integrative Biology Bioinspired Design |
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Anderson, Philip S L
andersps@illinois.edu |
Assistant Professor Animal Biology, PEEC Comparative evolutionary biomechanics in both vertebrates and invertebrates, particularly to examine how the laws of physics and mechanics influence evolutionary processes; combining kinematics and fracture mechanics to examine the evolution of biological cutting/puncture systems; biomechanical and morphological diversification in deep-time; evolution of multi-part biomechanical systems; paleobiomechanics |
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Bell, Alison
alisonmb@illinois.edu |
Associate Professor; Affiliate, Institute for Genomic Biology; Member, Neuroscience Program Animal Biology, PEEC Proximate causes and ultimate consequences of individual differences in behavior |
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Berenbaum, May
maybe@illinois.edu |
Professor & Head, Swanlund Chair Entomology, PEEC Chemical interactions between insects and host plants and their implications in the organization of natural communities |
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Cáceres, Carla
cecacere@illinois.edu |
Professor, SIB Director Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology Population, community and evolutionary ecology; life-history evolution; disease ecology; limnology |
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Catchen, Julian
jcatchen@illinois.edu |
Assistant Professor Animal Biology, PEEC How do genomes change over time? In particular, we want to examine how the architecture of a genome changes in response to major evolutionary events — what architectural changes occur in a genome seeding an invasive species, or a genome underlying a large, long-term species radiation? |
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Chen, Li-Qing
lqchen77@illinois.edu |
Assistant Professor Plant Biology Control of sugar allocation to improve crop yield or biomass for food and biofuels |
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Cheng, C.-H. Christina
c-cheng@illinois.edu |
Professor Animal Biology, PEEC Evolutionary genomic, transcriptomic, and physiological changes in cold adaptation and specialization in Antarctic and Arctic fishes. Molecular evolution of antifreeze proteins and other cold-adaptive genes and functions. Marine biodiversity in Polar regions. Field research in Antarctica and the Arctic |
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Conroy, Jessica
jconro@illinois.edu |
Assistant Professor Plant Biology My research is focused on understanding the modern climate system and reconstructing past climate variability using biological, chemical, and physical archives of climate and environmental change found in lake sediments. |
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Dalling, James
dalling@illinois.edu |
Professor and Head Plant Biology, PEEC Tropical forest dynamics, plant-soil and plant-fungal interactions, seed ecology |
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DeLucia, Evan H. |
G. William Arends Professor of Integrative Biology; Professor; Director, Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Plant Biology, PEEC Physiological ecology of vascular plants, photosynthesis, plant architecture, stress, climate change |
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Dietrich, Christopher
chdietri@illinois.edu |
Affiliate, Associate Center Director, Systematic Entomologist Entomology, PEEC, INHS Systematics, morphology, and evolutionary biology of leafhoppers and treehoppers; biodiversity and conservation of grassland ecosystems |
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Downie, Stephen R.
sdownie@illinois.edu |
Professor,
SIB Associate Director of Academic Affairs Plant Biology, PEEC, School of Integrative Biology Systematics and evolution of flowering plants, with emphasis on the family Apiaceae; chloroplast genome structural evolution |
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Fuller, Becky
rcfuller@illinois.edu |
Associate Professor Animal Biology, PEEC Speciation, animal behavior and its underlying neurological mechanisms; sexual selection and the evolution of mating systems; phenotypic plasticity |
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Harmon-Threatt, Alex
aht@illinois.edu |
Assistant Professor Entomology, PEEC Pollination Ecology, Conservation and Restoration |
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Hauber, Mark E
mhauber@illinois.edu |
Harley Jones Van Cleave Professor of Host-Parasite Interactions Animal Biology, PEEC I am a professor and behavioral ecologist, conservation scientist, and comparative psychologist, focusing on the evolution of recognition systems, and using land- and seabirds to address questions about how individuals recognize themselves, their mates, their young, their prey, and their predators. Shifting gears between behavioral, developmental, and molecular tools, my lab has been studying the social and genetic consequences of species recognition in avian brood parasites, such as cuckoos and cowbirds. We also explore the cogntive and neurophysiological bases of self/other discrimination critical for the social functioning of individuals, including crowded nests, dense seabird colonies, and even large human settlements. We use comparative and genetic tools, chemical and physical models, and perceptual and mathematical models to understand how individuals make the decisions which are critical for their survival and success, including sexual reproduction. |
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Heads, Sam
swheads@illinois.edu |
Affiliate, Lead Paleontologist Entomology, INHS |
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Heath, Katy
kheath@illinois.edu |
Associate Professor Plant Biology, PEEC Mutualism coevolution: evolutionary and ecological genetics of plant-microbe interactions; evolutionary responses to global change |
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Johnson, Kevin
kpjohnso@illinois.edu |
Affiliate, Principal Ornithologist Animal Biology, Entomology, INHS, PEEC Molecular systematics, host-parasite co-evolution, comparative approaches to studying the evolution of behavior in birds, co-speciation between birds and parasitic lice, population genetics of island biogeography |
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Leakey, Andrew D.B.
leakey@illinois.edu |
Associate Professor and University Scholar Plant Biology, PEEC Integrative plant physiology, genetics and genomics; plant water use efficiency, photosynthesis and carbon metabolism; crop responses to elevated CO2, drought, temperature and ozone; crop sustainability and responses to global environmental change |
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Long, Stephen
slong@illinois.edu |
Gutgsell Endowed Professor Crop Sciences, Plant Biology, PEEC Environmental physiology, atmospheric change impacts on crops and natural vegetation, C4 photosynthesis, energy crops, mathematical models of photosynthesis |
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Malhi, Ripan
malhi@illinois.edu |
Professor Animal Biology, PEEC Integrates population genetics, phylogenetics, ancient DNA analysis, and field research in collaboration with Native American communities; use of tools from molecular biology and population genetics; North America |
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Miller, Andrew
amiller7@illinois.edu |
Affiliate Plant Biology, PEEC Character evolution of ascomycetes with emphasis on members of the Class Sordariomycetes, biodiversity and biogeography of ascomycetes |
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Ming, Ray
rayming@illinois.edu |
Professor Plant Biology Evolution of primitive sex chromosomes, genome structure of papaya, sugarcane, coffee and pineapple |
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Molano-Flores, Brenda |
Affiliate, Senior Plant Ecologist Entomology, Plant Biology, INHS plant-insect interactions, reproductive biology of plants, population biology, conservation biology; restoration |
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O'Dwyer, James
jodwyer@illinois.edu |
Assistant Professor Plant Biology, PEEC We work with theoretical models and a broad range of data to understand patterns of biodiversity, from tropical forests to host-associated microbial systems like the human microbiome |
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Ort, Donald
d-ort@illinois.edu |
Professor Plant Biology Molecular and biochemical basis for environmental effects on photosynthesis, photosynthetic energy transduction |
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Paige, Ken N.
k-paige@illinois.edu |
Professor Animal Biology, PEEC Our lab focuses on several areas of research including 1) the ecology and evolutionary biology of species interactions with an emphasis on overcompensation (enhanced fitness following herbivory), 2) the role of somatic mutation and endoreduplication (replication of the genome without mitotic cell division) in allowing an individual plant to evolve and adjust to environmental challenges, 3) conservation genetics, focusing on the ecological and evolutionary consequences of small population size, and 4) phylogeographic analyses with a focus on understanding how organisms have responded to anthropogenic, geologic and climatic history. |
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Phillips, Christopher
caphilli@illinois.edu |
Adjunct Assistant Professor/Affiliate Animal Biology, PEEC Population genetics, population ecology, and systematics, especially as applied to amphibians, reptiles, and fishes; phylogeny estimation using molecular markers; conservation genetics |
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Punyasena, Surangi
spunya1@illinois.edu |
Associate Professor Plant Biology, PEEC Role of climate in long-term evolution of Neotropical forests; quantitative palynology |
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Riecks-Soucek, David
soucek@illinois.edu |
Affiliate, Ecotoxicologist, Entomologist Entomology, INHS Aquatic ecotoxicology |
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Robinson, Gene
generobi@illinois.edu |
Swanlund Chair and Director, Institute for Genomic Biology; Entomology, PEEC insect social behavior and genomics |
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Schuler, Mary
maryschu@illinois.edu |
Affiliate, Professor Entomology, Plant Biology, Molecular and Cellular Biology Pre-mRNA processing, P450 monooxygenases and their role in plant-insect interactions |
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Suarez, Andrew V.
suarez2@illinois.edu |
Professor and Head of Animal Biology Animal Biology, Entomology, PEEC Ant ecology and behavior; biological invasions |
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Wahl, David
d-wahl@illinois.edu |
Illinois Natural History Survey; Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences; Affiliate Entomology, PEEC INHS, PEEC Application of ecological principles to fisheries management; role of predators in controlling community dynamics; behavioral ecology of fishes; bioenergetic and bioeconomic modeling |
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Whitfield, James
jwhitfie@illinois.edu |
Professor Entomology, PEEC Ecology and phylogeny of parasitoid wasps |
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Yang, Wendy H.
yangw@illinois.edu |
Assistant Professor Plant Biology, PEEC Terrestrial biogeochemistry, ecosystem ecology, stable isotope ecology, soil-atmosphere greenhouse gas dynamics, climate change |