The Biology Department begins this new academic year with four new faculty members setting up labs and starting up in the classroom. The new hires are all in the Marine and Molecular, Cellular, and Physiological Biology areas, and bring a wide range of research interests:
- Wilbur Escorsia earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at CSUN, and he now returns to join the Molecular, Cellular, and Physiological Biology area with research interests in the cellular mechanisms of aging.
- Alex Davis joins the Marine Biology area from a postdoctoral position at UCLA. She studies the ecology of biological invasions, like the establishment of lionfish in new habitats.
- Michael Abdelsayad comes to the Molecular, Cellular, and Physiological Biology area from the faculty of California Lutheran University, and studies the molecular mechanisms of cellualr responses to temperature.
- Rafael Rittson-Williams joins the Marine Biology area from the California Academy of Sciences — he studies the chemical ecology and population genetics of reef-building corals.
Welcome, everyone!
Image: California buckwheat, Eriogonum fasciculatum, in the Santa Monica Mountains (photo by Jeremy Yoder)