Biology Faculty

Gerardo L. Carfagno - Visting Assistant Professor of Biology
(330) 263-2098 / gcarfagno@wooster.edu

B.A. Dartmouth 1999; Ph.D. Illinois 2007.

Gerardo Carfagno is a visiting assistant professor of biology at The College of Wooster. He teaches foundations in biology, comparative animal physiology, and behavioral ecology. His research interests include the ecology and conservation of reptiles and amphibians.

Carfagno earned his B.A. from Dartmouth (1999) and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2007).

Before coming to Wooster, Carfagno taught high school science in New York City. He has written articles that have been published in Ecoscience and the Canadian Journal of Zoology and is a member of the Ecological Society of America, the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, and the Wildlife Society.

Catherine P. Fenster, Assistant Professor of Biology
(330) 263-2436 / cfenster@wooster.edu

B.S. Furman 1993; M.A., Ph.D. Alabama at Birmingham 1995, 1999.

Catherine Fenster is an assistant professor of biology at The College of Wooster and a member of the faculty since 2005. She is a graduate of Furman University (1993) and earned her Ph.D. (1999) in neurobiology from the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB). Her dissertation research involved characterizing the effects of chronic nicotine at tobacco-related levels on the function of nicotinic receptors found in the brain.

As a postdoctoral research fellow in the department of pathology at UAB, she investigated the effects of physical exercise on molecular indicators of immune system function and inflammation. Her long-term research goals involve identifying cellular mechanisms that help regulate the excitability and development of neurons. Dr. Fenster and her students have been working toward characterizing the function of a newly discovered brain protein, called neuronal interleukin-16 (NIL-16), which is found only in brain regions where learning-related changes in neuronal signaling occur. Through studies involving animal behavior testing, molecular and cellular neurobiology, and electrophysiological recording of currents through ion channels, she and her students have been investigating the role of this protein in regulating neuronal function and development of neurons.

» Professor Fenster's Faculty Page

Dean Fraga - Associate Professor of Biology
(330) 263-2557 / dfraga@wooster.edu

B.S. Cincinnati 1982; Ph.D. Wisconsin (Madison) 1990.

Dean Fraga is an associate professor of biology and chair of the department at The College of Wooster where he has been a member of the faculty since 1994. He specializes in molecular biology, genetics, and the use of antisense/RNAi technology to control gene expression. His current research focuses on the evolution and physiological role of the phosphagen kinase protein family in invertebrate and bacterial species.

Fraga received his B.S. from the University of Cincinnati (1982) and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1990). He then spent four years at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle as a post-doctorate.

Fraga’s research has appeared in scientific articles that have been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

A member of the Society of Protozoologists, American Society of Biochemistry and Milecular Bioliogy, and the Council for Undergraduate Research, Fraga has received research grants from the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the American Cancer Society. His most recent award from NSF is a collaborative research grant with member of Wooster’s chemistry department to study the evolution of structure-function relationships in the phosphagen kinase protein family.

» Professor Fraga's Faculty Page

Carla Garzón - Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology
(330) 263-2088 / cgarzon@wooster.edu

B.S., Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador, 1999; Ph.D., New York University.

Carla Garzón has accepted the position of Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology. She received her B.S. in biology at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador and her Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University, where her thesis focused on the molecular characterization of selected Pythium species. Prior to coming to the College, she was a doctoral researcher in the department of plant pathology at the Pennsylvania State University and a post-doctoral researcher at The Ohio State University Agricultural Research and Development Center.

Richard Lehtinen - Assistant Professor of Biology
(330) 263-2271 / rlehtinen@wooster.edu

B.S. Winona 1995; M.S. Minnesota 1997; Ph.D. Michigan 2003

Richard M. Lehtinen is an assistant professor of biology at The College of Wooster, where he joined the faculty in 2003. He is an expert in ecology and evolution with a special interest in tropical biology and amphibians.

Lehtinen received his B.S. from Winona State University (1995), his M.S. (1997) from the University of Minnesota, and his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan (2003). The author of such articles as "Edge effects and extinction proneness in a herpetofauna from Madagascar," which appeared in Biodiversity and Conservation, Lehtinen received the Herpetologist's League Award for Graduate Student Research (2001) and the University of Michigan Horace H. Rackham Pre-doctoral Fellowship (2002-2003).

Lehtinen is a member of several scholarly societies including the Society for the Study of Evolution, the Ecological Society of America, the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, and the Herpetologist's League.

» Professor Lehtinen's Faculty Page

Marilyn Loveless - Professor of Biology
(330) 263-2022 / mloveless@wooster.edu

B.A. Albion 1971; Ph.D. Kansas 1984.

Marilyn D. Loveless is a professor of biology at The College of Wooster and a member of the faculty since 1987. She specializes in plant population biology, population genetics, ecology, and conservation biology,

Loveless received her B.A. from Albion College (1971) and her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas (1984). Her recent research has focused on the genetics of tropical trees, particularly on the effects of logging on tropical forests. She has worked throughout the Neotropics, and is the author of publications in genetics, ecology, and modeling. Her current projects focus on plant-pollinator interactions and their genetic consequences.

In 1991, she received a National Science Foundation research grant to study the mating system in Tachigali versicolor, a neotropical tree, in Panama.  She has also received research funding from the U.S. Forest Service for her work on the genetics of mahogany and was awarded a Fulbright Grant to study in Brazil in 1992. In addition, she is the editor for Tropinet, an international quarterly newsletter for tropical biologists.

Loveless is a member of the Society for the Study of Evolution, the Ecological Society of America, the British Ecological Society, the Society for Conservation Biology, the Botanical Society of America, and the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation.

» Professor Loveless' Faculty Page

Sharon Lynn - Assistant Professor of Biology
(330) 263-2437 / slynn@wooster.edu

B.S. South Carolina 1996; Ph.D. Washington 2002.

Sharon Lynn is an assistant professor of biology at The College of Wooster, where she joined the faculty in 2004. She specializes in behavioral endocrinology of vertebrates. Her research interests also include the environmental control of reproductive and stress physiology in songbirds, with a primary focus on species that breed in open habitats. She conducts fieldwork with local populations of breeding birds, and has also worked in the arctic tundra, short-grass prairie, and high-alpine meadows.

Lynn earned her B.S. from the University of South Carolina (1996), and her Ph.D. from the University of Washington (2002). Before coming to Wooster, she taught at Colby College and lectured at the University of Washington.

Among her published works are articles that appeared in Animal Behavior, Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, and Hormones and Behavior.

Lynn is a member of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology and the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology.

William R. Morgan - Associate Professor of Biology
(330) 263-2026 / wmorgan@wooster.edu

B.S. Cornell 1982; Ph.D. Yale 1988.

William R. Morgan is an associate professor of biology at The College of Wooster, where he joined the faculty in 1991. His areas of professional interest are molecular biology, genetics, and the nature of science.

A graduate of Cornell University (1982), Morgan earned his Ph.D. from Yale University (1988). He then conducted further research at Princeton University before coming to Wooster.

He has taught the introductory cell biology course and upper-level courses in genetics, molecular biology, and developmental biology, as well as a human genetics course for students not majoring in biology. He also regularly contributes to the college’s First-Year Seminar and Independent Study programs.

Morgan’s recent research focus is on Phytophthora infestans, the fungus-like organism responsible for the Irish potato famines of the mid-19th century and major crop losses in recent years. In hopes of developing effective treatments for its control, P. infestans is now the subject of intense molecular biology research to elucidate how this pathogen interacts with the host plant. Morgan also conducts research on the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, a model organism for understanding disease and other complex biological processes in more advanced animals, including humans.

» Professor Morgan's Faculty Page

Michelle Solensky - Assistant Professor of Biology
(330) 263-2341 / msolensky@wooster.edu

B.S. Wisconsin, Eau Claire 1996; Ph.D. Minnesota 2003.

Michelle Solensky is an assistant professor of biology at The College of Wooster where she joined the faculty in 2004. She specializes in animal behavior and insect ecology.

Solensky earned her B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (1996), and her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota (2003).

Among her published works is the book The Monarch Butterfly: Biology and Conservation, to which she contributed and co-edited. She recently co-authored an article “Wing color predicts future mating success in male monarch butterflies,” with two College of Wooster undergraduates in the Annals of Entomological Society of America.

Solensky was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant, and an Outstanding Performance Award for Teaching Assistants from the University of Minnesota. She is a member of the Animal Behavior Society, the Entomological Society of America, and the Ohio Academy of Science.