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Biology Faculty and Staff

Dr. Bruce Benz	Dr. Chitra Chandrasekaran	Dr. Mary Anne Clark	Dr. Michael Dixon Sabbatical 2002-2003	Dr. Gerald Vertrees Professor Emeritus
Staff	Adjunct and Visiting Faculty
Mr. Doug Thurman Administrative Assistant Math and Science	Dr. Scott Smith Mr. Paul Fadel Mr.David Keller	Dr. Mark Hart	Dr. Roderick Reinke	Dr. Craig Burnside Visiting Asst.Professor 2002-2003
Mr. Michael Moreno Lab Coordinator	Ms. Marina Gerson	Mr. Matt Nelson	Dr. Loren Ammerman

Bruce Benz, Ph. D.
E-mail Dr. Benz	Assistant Professor of Biology B. S., University of North Dakota M. S., University of Colorado-Boulder Ph. D., University of Wisconsin-Madison Teaching: Dr. Benz will be teaching conservation biology and botany for biology majors. He will also teach Contemporary  Biology and Plants and Human Affairs for nonmajors. Research: Dr. Benz's research interests include ethnobotany and archeology in Manantlan, Mexico, the evolution of maize and the conservation of north Texas prairies.

Chitra Chandrasekaran, Ph. D.
E-mail Dr. Chandrasekaran Dr. Chandrasekaran's course pages	Assistant Professor of Biology B. S., Stanford University Ph. D., Washington University Teaching: Dr. "C" has taught Structure & Function of the Cell, Human Physiology and Contemporary Biology for non-majors. She will also be teaching senior level Cell Biology this semester. Research: Dr. Chandrasekaran's research focuses on the development of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster.

Mary Anne Clark, Ph. D.
E-mail Dr. Clark Dr. Clark's  Class Pages	Professor of Biology Head, Division of Mathematics and Sciences B. S, Texas Woman's University M. S., New Mexico State University Ph. D., Bryn Mawr College Teaching: Dr. Clark teaches courses in animal diversity, genetics and developmental biology. She has also taught in Wesleyan's interdisciplinary Humanities Course and in the second year AEGIS block, Interpreting the World: Patterns and Paradigms. Research: Dr. Clark's current research project concerns a Drosophila mutation that produces long-term paralysis in Drosophila.  Dr. Clark also produces music based on protein sequences.

Michael Thomas Dixon, Ph. D. Sabbatical Leave 2001-2003.
E-mail Dr. Dixon Dr. Dixon's Class Pages Mike Dixon's  personal web site	Associate Professor of Biology B. A., Miami University (Ohio) Ph. D., University of Texas at Austin Teaching: Dr. Dixon teaches courses on animal diversity, evolution and ecology, vertebrate natural history and molecular biology. During the summer he teaches Introduction to Tropical Biology which includes a two week trip to Costa Rica. He has also taught the general studies course for new freshman and participated in Wesleyan's interdisciplinary Humanities Course. Research: Dr. Dixon's research interests include the natural history of vertebrates and molecular systematics. Recent projects include work on bats in Texas and Costa Rica. Results of this research were recently published in The Southwestern Naturalist 44(3):343-347. Last year's research highlight was radiotracking a western yellow bat (Lasiurus xanthinus) to its roost in a yucca plant.

Craig Burnside, Ph. D. Visiting Assistant Professor, 2002-2003.
E-mail Dr. Burnside Dr. Burnside's Class Pages	B. S., Rutgers University Ph. D., University of Texas at Arlington Teaching: Dr. Burnside will be teaching courses in evolution and ecology, and in comparative physiology. He also plans to introduce classes in marine biology and in biometrics. Research: Dr. Burnside's research interests include the evolutionary ecology of arthropods and molluscs.

Gerald Lee Vertrees, Ph. D.
	Gerald Lee Vertrees, Professor Emeritus of Biology A. A., Sacramento Junior College A. B., University of California at Davis M. A., University., University of California at Davis Ph. D., Indiana University Although Dr. Vertrees retired from full time teaching in 1997, he continues to teach his popular course on Spring Flora during the Late spring and early summer. He also continues research on the development and structure of laticifers in morning glories.

Doug Thurman
E-mail Doug	Administrative Assistant: Division of Mathematics and Sciences Doug Thurman is the Administrative Assistant for the Division of Mathematics and Sciences. Contact him if you can't find a professor, need to leave one of them a message or have a question.

Michael Moreno, B. S.
E-mail Mike Moreno	Laboratory Coordinator B. S., Texas Wesleyan University     Mike keeps all the labs running smoothly and also assists Dr. Dixon with various field research projects.

The Anatomy and Physiology Team

Scott Smith, Instructor and  Coordinator

B. A., Southwestern University, 1992
M. S., The University of North Texas Health Science Center, 1996
Ph. D., The University of North Texas Health Science Center, 1999

Teaching: Dr. Smith is part of a team from The University of North Texas Health Science Center that teaches anatomy     and Physiology. He has also taught human cardiovascular control during exercise at Texas Christian University.
Research: Dr. Smith's research focuses on neural cardiovascular control mechanisms in disease and exercise. Recent projects conducted in Copenhagen, Denmark included an investigation of blood pressure control during cycling and static muscle contraction. He is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

E-mail Dr. Smith:
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Paul Fadel, Instructor

David Keller, Instructor

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Mark Hart Adjunct Assistant  Professor of Biology E-mail Dr. Hart	Teaching-Dr. Hart teaches microbiology at The University of North Texas Health Science Center where he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Immunology. A number of Wesleyan graduates are now doing research in Dr. Hart's laboratory. Research: http://www.hsc.unt.edu/departments/molbioim/faculty/hart.htm
Loren Ammerman E-mail Dr. Ammerman	Teaching-Dr. Ammerman teaches during the summer as part of our Tropical Biology Program. She teaches a number of courses at the University of Texas at Arlington where she is a full-time Instructor. Each May she teaches a short course at UTA on the Natural History of Bats that includes a field trip to Big Bend National Park.  Dr. Ammerman is currently teaching at Angelo State as a Visiting Assistant Professor. Research-Dr. Ammerman's research interests focus on mammalian phylogeny and the natural history of bats.
Matt Nelson Adjunct Instructor in Biology  E-mail Matt Nelson	Matt Nelson is a graduate student at the University of Texas at Arlington. Mr. Nelson's research is in behavioral ecology. At Wesleyan this year, Mr. Nelson is teaching Evolution and Ecology.
Marina Gerson Adjunct Instructor in Biology E-mail Marina Gerson	Marina Gerson is a graduate student at the University of Texas at Arlington. Her research is in Herpetology and Behavior Ecology. At Wesleyan, Ms. Gerson teaches laboratories in Diversity and Function (BIO 1321) and in Animal Life (NSC 1307)

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Department of Biology  Texas Wesleyan University  1201 Wesleyan Street  Fort Worth, Texas 76105-1536  Phone (817) 531-7587 Fax (817) 531-4202