HomeVolume Spring 2007

Society-Wide Elections
Candidates and Biographies

Click on a candidate's name to jump to her/his biography and statement.

Candidates for Secretary Elect

  • Lou Burnett
  • Brian Tsukimura

    Candidates for Program Officer Elect

  • Kathy Coates
  • Eduardo Rosa-Molinar

    Candidates for Member-at-Large

  • Sönke Johnsen
  • Don Mykles
  • Jackie Webb




    Candidates for Secretary Elect


    Louis Burnett (incumbent)

    Current Position: Professor of Biology, Director of the Grice Marine Laboratory, College of Charleston, South Carolina 

    Education: B.S., College of William and Mary (1973); Ph.D. University of South Carolina (1977); Postdoctoral Fellow: 1978, University of Aarhus, Denmark 

    Professional Experience: Assistant through Full Professor, University of San Diego, 1978-1991; Dept. Chair, University of San Diego, 1988-1991; Professor and Dept. Chair, College of Charleston, 1991-1996; Director, Grice Marine Laboratory, 1991-present 

    SICB Activities: Member for over 30 years; Program Officer, Division of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry (1989-1990); Chair, Division of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry (1993-1995); associate editor of American Zoologist (1998-1999); currently the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS) representative for SICB; currently the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS), Section of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, representative for the Division of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry of SICB; co-organized a number of different symposia for SICB; SICB Secretary 2006-2009 

    Other Memberships: American Physiological Society; Council on Undergraduate Research; Estuarine Research Federation; National Shellfisheries Association; Sigma Xi; Southeastern Estuarine Research Society 

    Research Interests: The environmental physiology of animals; the influence of environmental variables on the physiology and biochemistry of animals; the evolution of the transition from water breathing to air breathing in animals; the effects of environmental variables, especially hypoxia, hypercapnia, and temperature on disease resistance in animals. 

    Statement of Goals: The highly integrative nature of this society played a significant role in how I viewed the world as a scientist when I first joined SICB as a graduate student in the 1970's. It is what keeps me and my students coming back to meetings year after year. I continue to enjoy serving SICB in various capacities and I believe that my experiences within the structure of SICB place me in a good position to contribute to the society's Executive Committee. As current secretary of the society I have initiated a reorganization and redesign of the SICB web site. A part of this project is to make the SICB web site a major place for SICB business to take place and to serve as an archive for the societies activities. I believe this important project will take sustained effort over several years to complete and I wish to see this through. 


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    Brian Tsukimura

    Current Position: Professor of Biology, Department of Biology, California State University, Fresno 

    Education: A.B. Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, 1981; M.S. Zoology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1985; Ph.D. Zoology, University of Hawaii, 1988 

    Professional Experience: Professor of Biology, California State University, Fresno 2005- present; Interagency Ecology Project – Mitten Crab Workteam, 1999 – present; Associate Professor of Physiology, 2000 – 2005, California State University, Fresno; Assistant Professor of Physiology, 1994 – 2000, California State University, Fresno; Acting Assistant Professor, Illinois State University, 1992 – 1994; Lecturer in Biology, Illinois State University, 1990; Postdoctoral Fellow, Endocrinology, Illinois State University, 1988 – 1992 

    SICB Activities: My first annual meeting was 1986 ASZ, Nashville, and I have attended every meeting to date except 1987 (New Orleans). Chair, Student/Post-Doctoral Affairs Committee, 1995-1999 (successfully lobbied to get this Chair of SPDAC onto the Executive Committee); Chair, Student Support Committee, 2002-2006 (implemented and increased number of FGST awards); Member SICB Program Committee as The Crustacean Society Liaison to SICB, 2005 to present. Participation in the Midwestern Regional Conference on Comparative Endocrinology (co-organizer, 1990), and Western Regional Conference on Comparative Endocrinology 

    Other Memberships: The Crustacean Society, American Microscopical Society, Western Society of Naturalists, AAAS - Pacific Division, Sigma Xi, Sierra Foothill Conservancy, Interagency Ecology Project – Mitten Crab Project Workteam. 

    Research Interests: Comparative endocrinology of the regulation of development, growth, and reproduction using crustacean (Branchiopoda, Brachyura, Astacidae and Penaeoidea) models. Current studies focus on the influence of environmental factors on reproduction and development, and the regulatory hormones integrating these influences, particularly on vitellogenin synthesis and larval growth. Recent studies on the invasive Chinese mitten crab have diversified my research to include invasive species ecology, particularly with respect to larval population dynamics on adult year class strength. In addition, we have started examining selenium toxicity as a stressor on tadpole metamorphosis. 

    Goals Statement: The annual SICB meetings serve as a forum for our Society members to share data and exchange ideas. My past participation on SPDAC and SSC has attempted to ensure that SICB remains a student and post-doc friendly organization by minimizing the perceived distance and disconnection between this very important constituency and the SICB faculty. As Secretary, I would try to keep the membership informed of all the important events happening within our society and assist in maintaining its smooth functioning. I hope to work with the other members of the Executive Committee to find new and exciting ways to meet the ever changing needs of both our student and faculty members. 



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    Candidates for Program Officer Elect


    Kathryn A. Coates 

    Current Position: Associate Research Scientist, Department of Conservation Services, Bermuda Ministry of the Environment, Bermuda 

    Current Professional Affiliations: Adjunct Professor, School of Graduate Studies and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto; Research Associate, Royal Ontario Museum, Department of Natural History, Toronto, Canada; Research Associate of the Bermuda Zoological Society and the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo 

    Education: BSc, University of Toronto, 1974, MSc, University of Victoria, Canada, 1979, PhD, University of Victoria, Canada, 1987 

    Professional Experience: Curatorial Fellow, Assistant and Associate Curator, Department of Invertebrate Biology, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada; Assistant Professor, Zoology, University of Toronto; Associate Research Scientist and Academic Education Advisor, Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Inc (now, Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences) 

    SICB Activities: 2003 - ongoing, service to Program Committee as representative for an affiliate Society; 2005, Co-organizer “The New Microscopy: New Characters and the Importance of Morphology in Phylogenetic Analysis” and co-developer of SICB webpages based on the symposium presentations; 2003, DIZ student paper judge (also additional, earlier, years); poster and paper presentations in various years, since late-1980’s. 

    Other Professional Memberships: American Microscopical Society, Program Officer since 2002; North American Benthological Society, Taxonomic Expert for NABS Taxonomic Certification Program; American Fisheries Society, co-chair of Annelid Subcommittee of the Committee on Common Names of Aquatic Invertebrates of North America. Also: Systematics Society (UK), Biological Society of Washington, American Association for Zoological Nomenclature, Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean, and Aquatic Oligochaete Biologists 

    Research Interests: Systematics and evolution of marine and freshwater, tropical, clitellate annelids; diversity and evolution of the clitellate family Enchytraeidae; conservation ecology of tropical seagrass communities; conservation ecology and general biology of tropical intertidal snails; conservation and management plan development for marine habitats; dispersal and evolution of marine invertebrates of the sub-tropical mid Atlantic region – Bermuda and the Caribbean. 

    Goals Statement: As Program Officer for the SICB my primary goal would be to continue the well-structured program development process, which now includes and integrates the PO’s of all the Divisions of the SICB and of the affiliated Societies. Also, it is recognized by the SICB executive, and others, that new and novel financing for, our symposia are necessary and I would wish to contribute to this ongoing strategic planning. 


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    Eduardo Rosa-Molinar 

    Current Position: Associate Professor of Biology and Neuroembryology, University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico 

    Education: The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Natural Sciences; B.S., 1994 University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska. Medical Sciences Ph.D., 1997 Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska. Cellular & Molecular Neurobiology, 1997-1999 

    Professional Experience: August, 2003-present: Associate Professor, University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico; August, 1999-July, 2003: Assistant Professor, University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico; July, 1997-July, 1999: Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska 

    SICB Activities: Editorial Board (2003-present), Integrative and Comparative Biology; Symposium Co-Organizer (2003). Alexander Kowalevsky Award Recipients Mini-Symposium; SICB Program Committee (2003-2007); Division of Evolutionary Developmental Biology Program Officer (2001-2007); SICB Committee on Diversity (2001-present); Symposium Organizer (2001), Starting from Fins: Parallelism in the Evolution of Limbs and Genitalia 

    Other memberships: Society for Developmental Biology; American Society for Cell Biology; American Association of Anatomists; Society for Neuroscience; Histochemical Society; Sigma Xi; American Association of the Advancement of Science 

    Research Interests: We use classical and modern differential neuroanatomical tract-tracing methods combined with classical and modern optical microscopy methods and through collaborations, to visualize and study the logic of neural circuit organization, assembly, and remodeling in the vertebrate spinal cord. 

    Goals Statement: If elected, my primary objective will be to work closely with SICB divisional program officers to encourage the SICB membership to develop proposals for high profile symposia and workshops, and assist SICB divisional program officers and symposia and workshop organizers in their fund raising efforts (i.e., money for international travel) to bring together more integrative biologists within SICB and outside of SICB in order to continue working on "big picture questions" in the field of integrative biology as well as on the latest most appropriate tools, techniques, and theories in integrative biology. I will continue to work on strengthen ties and increase the collaborative efforts between SICB divisional program officers. 



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    Candidates for Member-At-Large Elect


    Sönke Johnsen (incumbent)

    Current position: Assistant Professor, Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC. (2001-present) 

    Education: 1988, B.A. in Mathematics, Swarthmore College; 1996, Ph.D. in Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 

    Professional experience: 2003-present, Adjunct Scientist, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University; 2002-present, Adjunct Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; 2000-2001, Assistant Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. 1999-2000, Postdoctoral Scholar, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; 1997-1998, Postdoctoral Fellow, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution; 1996-1997, Lecturer, Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; 1991-1994, National Science Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 

    SICB activities: 1991-present, member; 2002-2004, Bartholomew award committee; 2003, nominating committee, Division of Invertebrate Zoology; 2003, 2007, co-organizer of two symposiums, editor of the proceedings of the first symposium; 2007 SICB member-at-large (filling one year vacancy) 

    Other memberships: Sigma Xi 

    Research interests: Visual ecology of pelagic species, including topics such as: organismal and ocular transparency, camouflage, bioluminescence, polarization and ultraviolet vision, and optical sampling techniques for zooplankton. 

    Goals statement: SICB has been my intellectual home since the Atlanta meeting in 1991, during which I gave my first terrified talk. Since then, I have talked at every meeting but one, including one in a leg brace and another using borrowed clothing and no slides. The main purpose of the member-at-large is to tell the society’s leadership what the members are thinking, something that I have been doing for a number of years. My goal is to continue this. One of the reasons I have stayed with SICB over the years is that I always felt that the leadership listened to me. If I can repay even some of this, I will be happy. 


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    Donald L. Mykles 

    Current Position: Professor, Department of Biology and Associate Dean for Graduate Education, College of Natural Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins 

    Education: B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara (1973); Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley (1979) 

    Professional Experience: Muscular Dystrophy Association Postdoctoral Fellow (1981-1983); Postdoctoral Fellow, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (1979-1983); Research Associate, ORNL (1983-1985); Assistant (1985-1988), Associate (1988-1993), Full Professor (1993-present), Colorado State University. NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award (1989); Fulbright Scholar and Guest Professor, University of Heidelberg (1991); Fulbright Intercountry Visitor to the U.K. (1991); Associate Editor, The Journal of Experimental Zoology (1994-1999); Distinguished Research Fellow at Bodega Marine Laboratory, University of California, Davis (1998); Editorial Board, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, 2002-present 

    SICB Activities: Invited speaker in five SICB symposia (co-organizer of two); Judge for DCBP Best Student Paper competitions; DCPB Nominating Committee; DCE Nominating Committee; DCPB Program Officer (2007-08) 

    Other Memberships: American Physiological Society; The Crustacean Society; American Association for the Advancement of Science; and Society for Experimental Biology 

    Research Interests: Regulation of molting and limb regeneration in decapod crustaceans using cellular, biochemical and molecular biological methods. There are two projects: (1) signaling mechanisms in the molting gland and (2) steroid regulation of claw muscle atrophy. 

    Goals Statement: I have been a member of ASZ/SICB since 1974 and have attended most of the annual meetings over that period of time as a graduate student, postdoctoral fellow, and professor. It is the major forum for integrative organismal biology in the US. I am familiar with the scope of the Society, as my research spans four divisions (Comparative Physiology & Biochemistry, Comparative Endocrinology, Neurobiology, and Invertebrate Zoology). As member-at-large, I will foster efforts that promote the exchange of ideas and techniques across the broad spectrum of biological diversity and organization. For example, SICB should continue its involvement in organizing regional and international meetings, as well as encourage participation of students and postdoctoral fellows in the annual meetings and Society governance. If elected, I will work with other members of the Executive Committee and the Business Office to continually improve its operations. 


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    Jacqueline F. Webb 

    Current Position: Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island 

    Education: B.S., Cornell University (1979); Ph.D., Boston University (1988); Post-Doctoral Fellow Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD (1987-1989): Post-Doctoral Fellow and Post-Doctoral Associate, Department of Anatomy, N.Y.S. Coll. Vet. Med., Cornell University (1989-1991); Grass Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellow, Friday Harbor Labs, University of Washington (1992) 

    Professional Experience: Assistant and Associate Professor of Biology, Villanova University (1993-2006); Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, University of New Hampshire (2001); Visiting Investigator, BU Marine Program, MBL (2000); Visiting Instructor, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University (1993); Visiting Assistant Professor, Illinois Wesleyan University (1992); Visiting Faculty, Boston University Marine Program, MBL (1991); Visiting Faculty, Marine Sciences and Maritime Studies Center, Northeastern University (1987); Lecturer/Coordinator, Undergraduate Marine Science Program, Boston Univ. (1983-1987) 

    SICB Activities: Active member since 1982; Symposium Organizer for 2006 Annual Meeting “Zebrafish in Comparative Context”, with T. Schilling; Funded by NIH, American Association of Anatomists Research Meeting Outreach Grant, American Microscopical Society, and Aquatic Habitats, Inc.; Nominating Committee, Division of Vertebrate Morphology (2001); Program Officer, Division of Systematics (1995-1997); Judge, Dwight Davis Award, Division of Vertebrate Morphology (1989) 

    Other Memberships: American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, International Society of Vertebrate Morphologists, American Association of Anatomists, American Association for the Advancement of Science 

    Research Interests: Development and Evolution of the Mechanosensory Lateral Line System in Fishes; Evolution of Vertebrate Sensory Systems; Functional Morphology; Evolutionary Developmental Biology; Ichthyology and Fish Biology. 

    Goals Statement: SICB’s mission to support integrative biology is unique among scholarly societies and provides an important venue for the development of novel interdisciplinary collaborations. We need to continue to promote the combination of high quality science and the accessible, student-friendly atmosphere at SICB meetings, which provided so many of us with our first meeting experience. Both SICB’s Divisional organization and its focus on symposia are important for the continuing evolution of new approaches to integrative biology, but should be supported with additional funding especially given the decreasing funding availability from federal agencies. SICB is in a unique position to increase its efforts in public outreach in novel ways especially in light of renewed suspicion of the validity of scientific inquiry. I would like to see additional efforts to promote attendance of local high school teachers at annual SICB meetings, which should increase SICB’s impact on the science education of future undergraduates. ICB’s increased visibility with the move to Oxford University should also allow the journal to publish a wider range of paper formats (beyond our symposia), which will enhance its profile and broaden its readership. 


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