The Hamilton biology faculty are active not just as teachers, but as scholars as well. Their research interests vary from cell biology, endocrinology, molecular genetics, and developmental biology to electron microscopy, plant physiology, and ecology.
Brianne Barker earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Duke University and a Ph.D. in immunology from Harvard University. Her dissertation, titled “Critical role for interleukin-21 in antiviral CD8+ T lymphocyte responses,” examined the role of cytokines in immunological memory with potential applications for vaccine development. Barker comes to Hamilton from UNC Chapel Hill where she was a post-doctoral fellow studying the role of inflammatory proteins involved in infectious disease and asthma. Her peer-reviewed publications can be found in The Journal of Immunology, European Journal of Immunology, Journal of Virology, and Science. Barker's current research interests include the role of inflammatory proteins in susceptibility to viral infection.
Wei-Jen Chang, associate professor of biology, joined the Hamilton faculty in 2006. He earned a bachelor’s degree from National Taiwan University and his master’s and Ph.D. from SUNY Buffalo. During his postdoctoral work at Princeton University Chang studied gene evolution and genome organization in unicellular organisms. He has written or co-written several professional articles in Gene, Protist, Molecular Biology and Evolution and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Gapp concentrates on comparative endocrinology of reptiles, with a focus on the action and evolution of gastrointestinal and pancreatic hormones. He has written and reviewed manuscripts for notable journals including The Journal of Comparative Endocrinology and Physiological Zoology, and he has received research grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. His research focuses primarily on turtles and alligators, examining factors controlling insulin and gastrin release and looking particularly at seasonal aspects of pancreatic hormone release in turtles. His recent identification of "diabetes" in a local population of snapping turtles may provide an interesting model to pursue the study of this serious metabolic disease that affects a significant portion of the American population.
A member of the Hamilton College faculty since 1986, Garrett earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry and biophysics at Texas A & M University. Specializing in the molecular genetics of yeast and microbial metagenomics, with interests in the ethical and social issues associated with genetic research, she has published articles for the Journal of Bacteriology, Journal of Cell Biology, and Journal of General Microbiology. She has been awarded grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and several private foundations. She is currently investigating the diversity of microbial life in Green Lake: an unusual stratified (meromictic) lake located just outside Fayetteville, NY.
More about Jinnie Garrett ...
Professor Miller has presented her science and approaches to education in Asia, Europe, Latin America and all over North America. At Hamilton she investigates influence of cell division and cell death on shaping early vertebrate embryos. Her published work can be found in Developmental Biology, Development, Developmental Dynamics, The Anatomical Record, the Journal of Experimental Zoology, The New Anatomist, and Anatomical Sciences Education. Miller was coauthor and illustrator of a book as an undergraduate and has subsequently published research with her own undergraduate collaborators. Extensive world travel enriches her broad view of biology that she shares with students.
More about Sue Ann Miller ...
A National Science Foundation grantee, Reynolds is an expert on marine invertebrate biology, particularly the evolution of Mollusca -- the phylum that includes snails, clams and squid. Reynolds received his B.Sc. from University College, Galway, Ireland, and his Ph.D. from the University of Victoria, Canada. He has worked with biology student research assistants on cruises and at marine field stations along both coasts of North America and in Antarctica. His recent publications have appeared in Advances in Marine Biology, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, and in Molecular systematics and phylogeography of mollusks (Smithsonian Institution Press). He is also the editor of Invertebrate Biology, an international journal of the American Microscopical Society. Reynolds has been a visiting scientist at the Smithsonian Marine Station in Caribo Cay, Belize, the National Museum of Natural History, and the Natural History Museum in London.
More about Patrick Reynolds ...
Ashleigh Smythe, visiting assistant professor of biology, earned a Ph.D. in plant pathology from the University of California, Davis. She was most recently at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History as a Postdoctoral Fellow. Smythe has published papers in Nematology, Systematic Biology and Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
More about Ernest H. Williams, Jr. ...
Back to biology overview.
Like all the sciences, biology at Hamilton is grounded in the College's innovative liberal arts approach. Students build their writing and speaking skills in most courses. Biology at Hamilton also has a strong interdisciplinary element, contributing to the Neuroscience, Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and Environmental Studies programs. All these dimensions make Hamilton's biology grads uniquely qualified to think creatively and make connections among many disciplines. Graduates have a strong record of admission to graduate and professional schools and to employment in fields such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, secondary school teaching and science writing.
All senior biology majors engage in extensive research with a faculty member, and the focus on research is apparent even in the department's intro courses. This creates an atmosphere of scientific discovery in the labs and a sense of community among students and professors. The student biology club, BioMatters, helps the department choose speakers and plan events.
Biology is the largest of the science departments at Hamilton, with faculty members covering the breadth of the biological sciences in a diverse curriculum. Included are topics such as molecular genetics, environmental microbiology, neurochemistry, comparative endocrinology, plant diversity, marine biology, conservation and much more.
Like all the sciences, biology at Hamilton is grounded in the College's innovative liberal arts approach. Students build their writing and speaking skills in most courses. Biology at Hamilton also has a strong interdisciplinary element, contributing to the Neuroscience, Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and Environmental Studies programs. All these dimensions make Hamilton's biology grads uniquely qualified to think creatively and make connections among many disciplines. Graduates have a strong record of admission to graduate and professional schools and to employment in fields such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, secondary school teaching and science writing.
All senior biology majors engage in extensive research with a faculty member, and the focus on research is apparent even in the department's intro courses. This creates an atmosphere of scientific discovery in the labs and a sense of community among students and professors. The student biology club, BioMatters, helps the department choose speakers and plan events.
Biology is the largest of the science departments at Hamilton, with faculty members covering the breadth of the biological sciences in a diverse curriculum. Included are topics such as molecular genetics, environmental microbiology, neurochemistry, comparative endocrinology, plant diversity, marine biology, conservation and much more.
Like all the sciences, biology at Hamilton is grounded in the College's innovative liberal arts approach. Students build their writing and speaking skills in most courses. Biology at Hamilton also has a strong interdisciplinary element, contributing to the Neuroscience, Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and Environmental Studies programs. All these dimensions make Hamilton's biology grads uniquely qualified to think creatively and make connections among many disciplines. Graduates have a strong record of admission to graduate and professional schools and to employment in fields such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, secondary school teaching and science writing.
All senior biology majors engage in extensive research with a faculty member, and the focus on research is apparent even in the department's intro courses. This creates an atmosphere of scientific discovery in the labs and a sense of community among students and professors. The student biology club, BioMatters, helps the department choose speakers and plan events.
Biology is the largest of the science departments at Hamilton, with faculty members covering the breadth of the biological sciences in a diverse curriculum. Included are topics such as molecular genetics, environmental microbiology, neurochemistry, comparative endocrinology, plant diversity, marine biology, conservation and much more.
