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Biology Faculty


  • Department Chair

  • Charles F. Zwemer
    Associate Professor of Biology (1995).
    James Hall - Rector Complex Room 1217
    zwemer@dickinson.edu
    (717) 245-1293

  • Department Faculty

  • John H. Henson

    John H. Henson
    Charles A. Dana Professor of Biology (1989).
    James Hall - Rector Complex Room 1227
    (717) 245-1434 | henson@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., University of Virginia, 1979; M.S., Florida State University, 1983; Ph.D., Harvard University, 1989.

    He teaches courses in cell biology, immunology, animal development, marine science, and health studies. His research program utilizes marine orgnisms as model experimental systems for studying basic aspects of cell structure and function, particularly how cells move, change shape, and divide.

  • Michael P. Roberts

    Michael P. Roberts
    (on leave Spring 2013)
    Associate Professor of Biology (1992).
    Dana Hall Room 205
    (717) 245-1201 | robertsm@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., Colgate University, 1977; M.S., Miami University, 1979; Ph.D., Yale University, 1988.
    Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching, 2002-03.

    His research interests center on the biology of cancer, in particular leukemia, and the mechanisms by which cancer cells might be reprogrammed to either behave normally or self destruct. He and his students use genomic, proteomic and bioinformatic methods to explore changes in gene expression that distinguish cancer cells from normal cells. His teaching interests included genetics, molecular genetics, bioinformatics and the biology of cancer.

  • Carol C. Loeffler

    Carol C. Loeffler
    Associate Professor of Biology (1988).
    Dana Hall Room 7
    (717) 245-1360 | loeffler@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., Smith College, 1982; Ph.D., Cornell University, 1992.
    Dickinson Award for Distinguished Teaching, 2008-09.

    She teaches courses in algae, fungi, lichens, and land plants. Her research interests with students are in the biology and ecology of rare plant species and in the impact of deer and other herbivores on forest vegetation.

  • Anthony Pires

    Anthony Pires
    (on leave Fall 2012)
    Associate Professor of Biology (1993).
    James Hall - Rector Complex Room 1225
    (717) 245-1632 | pires@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., Harvard College, 1982; Ph.D., Cornell University, 1990.

    He teaches courses in neurobiology, behavioral biology and invertebrate zoology. His research interests are in the neural control of developmental events, especially the regulation of settlement and metamorphosis in larvae of marine invertebrates.

  • Charles F. Zwemer

    Charles F. Zwemer
    Associate Professor of Biology (1995).
    James Hall - Rector Complex Room 1217
    (717) 245-1293 | zwemer@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., Hope College, 1987; Ph.D., Indiana University Medical Sciences Program, 1993; Post-Doctoral Fellowship, University of Michigan Medical School, 1995.
    Ganoe Award for Inspirational Teaching, 1999-2000.

    He teaches courses in physiology, microanatomy, and vertebrate biology. His research addresses issues of cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal function in normal and diseased states.

  • Thomas M. Arnold

    Thomas M. Arnold
    Associate Professor of Biology (2003).
    Dana Hall Room 210
    (717) 245-1319 | arnoldt@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., St. Mary's College of Maryland, 1993; Ph.D., University of Delaware, 1998.

    Dr. Arnold is a biochemist and physiologist who studies natural toxins, pheromones, odors, and anti-microbials. He focuses on natural products found in both marine and terrestrial ecosystems, including seagrass communities, coral reefs, temperate forests, and agricultural fields.

  • Kirsten A. Guss

    Kirsten A. Guss
    Associate Professor of Biology, John R. & Inge Paul Stafford Chair in Bioinformatics (2001).
    Dana Hall Room 212
    (717) 245-1530 | gussk@dickinson.edu
    B.A., Gettysburg College, 1989; Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University, 1997.

    Prof. Guss is interested in the molecular basis of development. Her research focuses on the role of the transcription factor scalloped during development of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Prof. Guss teaches the following courses in the biology program: 127: This is Your Life, 317: Genetics, 318: Animal Development, and 418: Developmental Genomics.

  • David B. Kushner

    David B. Kushner
    Associate Professor of Biology (2003).
    Dana Hall Room 208
    (717) 245-1328 | kushnerd@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.S., Haverford College, 1993; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1998.

    He teaches courses in microbiology, virology, and RNA biology. His research combines genetics and cell and molecular and biology with modern genomic and bioinformatic approaches to understand interactions between viruses and their hosts, and also uses evolution-based approaches to understand the relationship between viral RNA sequence, structure, and function.

  • Scott M. Boback

    Scott M. Boback
    Assistant Professor of Biology (2007).
    Dana Hall Room 11
    (717) 245-1799 | bobacks@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., Ripon College, 1991; M.A., University of Northern Colorado, 1995; Ph.D., Auburn University, 2005.

    Broadly, I am an animal ecologist with a focus in herpetology (non-avian reptiles and amphibians). I teach courses in ecology, evolution, vertebrate natural history, and physiology. My students and I investigate a variety of organisms in both lab and field settings. Recent projects have included the muscular performance of snakes during constriction, the population ecology of painted turtles, and the evolutionary development of snake jaws.

  • Mary M. Niblock

    Mary M. Niblock
    (on leave Fall 2011)
    Assistant Professor of Biology (2007).
    James Hall - Rector Complex Room 1221
    (717) 245-1292 | niblockm@dickinson.edu | Visit Web Site
    B.A., University of Richmond, 1992; Ph.D., Wake Forest University, 1998.

  • Tiffany A. Frey

    Tiffany A. Frey
    Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology (2011).
    Dana Hall Room 103
    (717) 254-8037 | freyt@dickinson.edu
    B.A., The Pennsylvania State University, 2000; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 2008.

  • Pamela Kim Van Fleet

    Pamela Kim Van Fleet
    Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology (2012).
    Dana Hall Room 9
    (717) 254-8918 | vanfleep@dickinson.edu
    B.S., Shippensburg University, 1993; M.S., 1997.

  • H. Eugene Wingert

    H. Eugene Wingert
    Visiting Instructor in Biology (2007).
    Dana Hall Room 3
    (717) 254-8939 | wingerth@dickinson.edu
    B.A., Shippensburg University, 1967; M.Ed., 1972.

  • Adjunct Faculty

  • Patricia Carr

    Patricia Carr
    Adjunct Faculty in Biology (2013).
    Dana Hall Room 11B
    (717) 254-8069 | carrpa@dickinson.edu


  • Meredith Rauhut

    Meredith Rauhut
    Adjunct Faculty in Biology (2011).
    Kaufman Hall Room 174
    (717) 254-8193 | rauhutm@dickinson.edu
    B.A., Bucknell University, 1995; Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst, 2001.

  • Academic Administrative Staff

  • Michael Potthoff

    Michael Potthoff
    Department Technician
    Dana Hall Rm 22
    (717) 245-1144 | potthofm@dickinson.edu