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SICB


Elections

Candidates and Biographies

Member at Large of the Executive Committee

  • Esther M. Leise

    Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Greensboro

    Education: Ph.D. in Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle, 1983; B.S. in Zoology, with honors, University of Maryland, College Park, 1975.

    Professional Experience: Associate Professor, Dept. of Biology, UNCG 1998-present; Assistant Professor, Dept. of Biology, UNCG 1991-1998; Assistant Researcher, Kewalo Marine Laboratory, Pacific Biomedical Research Center, University of Hawaii, 1990-1991; Postdoctoral work, Dept. of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, 1988-1990; Postdoctoral Fellow, Depts. of Zoology and Otology, University of California Davis, 1983-1988.

    SICB Participation: Presenter at 69% of annual meetings from 1979-2002, co-organizer of 2000 symposium "Nitric Oxide in Invertebrates"; member SICB Membership Committee 1998-2000, member SICB Program Advisory Committee 1998-2000, member SICB Focus Committee 1996-1997, member ASZ Public Affairs Committee 1992-1995.

    Other Memberships and Activities: AAAS; East Coast Nerve Net; International Society for Neuroethology; Phi Beta Kappa; Sigma Xi; Society for Neuroscience; The Biological Bulletin editorial board member, 2000-present.

    Research Interests: Neural control of metamorphosis in marine invertebrates, particularly marine molluscs; evolution of invertebrate nervous systems, invertebrate neuroanatomy and neurophysiology.



  • George V. Lauder

    Current Position: Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, and Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology, Harvard University.

    Education: Ph.D. Harvard University, 1979; M.A. Harvard University, 1978, A. B. Harvard University, 1976.

    Professional Experience: 2000 - present. Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. 1999 - present. Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University. 1990 - 1999. Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine. 1987 - 1996. Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine. 1986 - 1990. Associate Professor, University of California, Irvine. 1981 - 1986. Assistant and Associate Professor of Anatomy, The College, and the Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago. 1979 - 1981. Junior Fellow in the Society of Fellows, Harvard University. SICB Participation: Presenter at SICB meetings since 1977, organized or co-organized 4 symposia, past Chair of Division of Vertebrate Morphology

    Research Interests: functional morphology, biomechanics, and evolution of vertebrates; systematics; phylogeny construction; historical analysis; experimental and conceptual approaches to the analysis of form in organisms; experimental hydrodynamics of locomotion; physiology of the musculoskeletal system.

    Statement of Goals: I would be pleased to work with the Executive Committee to continue the tremendous success of recent meetings and to foster outreach to new students who will form the next generation of SICB scientists. A special interest of mine is improving our journal, especially regarding the journal web page, the time to publication of articles, the review process, publication of color, and submission of digital files.




Chair, Educational Council

  • Henry B. John-Alder

    Current position: Associate Professor, Rutgers University, Department of Animal Sciences

    Education: 1983 Ph.D.University of California, Irvine, CA; 1979 M.S. Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA; 1974 B.A. Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA

    SICB Activities: Member since 1980, Divisional affiliations: DCPB, DCE, Nominating Committee of DCE, 2003, Secretary of DCE, 1996-97

    Research Interests: My research concerns the functional traits of organisms, their underlying (endocrine) regulation, and the significance of their variation in the natural world. As such, I am broadly interested in environmental physiology and endocrinology, as reflected in my divisional affiliations within SICB. My general approach crosses traditional levels of biological organization from biochemical to behavioral and includes a mix of laboratory and field research. I have demonstrated that complex physiological and behavioral interactions can only be understood in the milieu of the natural social and seasonal environment. As such, I stress the critical interdependence of experimental studies in the wild with a solid grounding in natural history. The breadth of my contributions reflects this philosophy. My current research foci, stemming directly from earlier work, are: 1) growth regulation and sexual size dimorphism, and 2) stress and adrenocortical cell function. In the former area, I am currently concentrating on phrynosomatid lizards, a large group with many accessible species representing both male-biased and female-biased SSD. My studies are both comparative and experimental and are directed at levels of organization from organismal energetics to genomic regulation.

    Goals Statement: I strongly believe that innovative research is the essential underpinning of an effective curriculum, and I believe that integrative animal biology holds the central ground in contemporary biology curricula. This philosophy is evident both in my research and my teaching, and it is one that I will bring to the Education Council of SICB. I have made a very deliberate effort to develop research activity consistent with the programmatic mission of my recent academic appointment in the Department of Animal Sciences, even while pursuing my fundamental interests. With the aid of a Rutgers' curriculum improvement grant, I developed an inquiry-based field biology course centered at the Rutgers Pinelands Research Station, the site of my field research. As Director of the Graduate Program in Animal Sciences, I am leading the development of a coordinated curriculum that address the broad underpinnings of contemporary animal sciences in integrative animal biology, from organisms to molecules and back. Unencumbered by moorings in traditional, production-oriented animal sciences, my background in integrative biology has been particularly advantageous in this vein.

    As Chair of the Education Council of SICB, I will promote the Society's efforts to create a seamless interface between the members' scholarly and instructional activities. I will promote the Council's interests in oral/poster sessions dedicated to the integration of teaching and research, and I will work with the Council to develop other educational venues. Such activities could include the development of curricular objectives in integrative and comparative animal biology, as have been put forth by other professional societies in their fields. In the long run, the acceptance and implementation of curricular goals could help SICB to regain coherence among its divisions. I will work to seek funding for educational initiatives within the Society, and I will support proposals to incorporate science education into annual meetings of SICB, including the organization of "Science as a Way of Knowing" symposia.




  • Janice Voltzow

    Current position: Associate Professor, Department of Biology, University of Scranton

    Education: B.S., Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 1980; Ph.D., Zoology, Duke University, Durham, NC 1985.

    Professional Experience: Cocos Foundation Trainee in Morphology, 1982-1985; Postdoctoral Fellow, Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, 1985-1986; Assistant, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, 1987-1996; Visiting Scholar, Harvard Forest, Harvard University, 1992; Assistant, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, University of Scranton, 1996-present; President, American Malacological Society, 2000-2001; Editor-in-chief, American Malacological Bulletin, 2001-present; Project Kaleidoscope Faculty for the 21st Century, 2002-present.

    SICB Activities: SICB member since 1982; Chairperson, Public Affairs Committee, 1987-1989; Co-organizer and moderator, Forum on Biodiversity, 1988; Representative to AAAS Section X, Societal Impacts of Science and Engineering, 1997-1998; Nominating Committee, Division of Systematic Biology, 1997.

    Other Memberships: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Malacological Society, American Microscopical Society, Malacological Society of London, Sigma Xi, Unitas Malacologica, Western Society of Naturalists.

    Research Interests: Functional morphology and evolution of marine molluscs.

    Goals Statement: For most of us, research and education are highly integrated in our professional lives. This integration can sometimes become a struggle as we seek to balance our research and educational activities. I believe SICB can do more to help us reach that balance. Just as SICB serves as a resource for learning about each others' scientific accomplishments, it can also serve as a resource for pedagogical insights to incorporate research into our educational activities. Because we are each other's best resource, I would like to see more opportunities for sharing ideas and solutions to the challenge of integrating research and education. For example, I would like to organize discussions of the significance of the NSF criterion on the broader impacts of proposals and on opportunities to receive NSF support for educational activities. How can we incorporate experiential learning and an interdisciplinary perspective into our courses? How can we provide access to research to students at all levels? How can we help prepare our graduate students to be competitive in the academic job market? The Education Council should provide a forum in which these topics can be discussed.