Stanford University
Showing 401-500 of 694 Results
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Harold Mooney
Paul S. and Billie Achilles Professor in Environmental Biology, Emeritus
BioStanford ecologist Harold “Hal” Mooney is the Paul S. Achilles Professor of Environmental Biology, emeritus, in the School of Humanities and Science’s Department of Biology and senior fellow, emeritus, with the Stanford Woods Institute as well as the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Mooney helped pioneer the field of physiological ecology and is an internationally recognized expert on environmental sciences. Through his six-decade academic career, Mooney has demonstrated how plant species and groups of species respond to their environments and developed research methodologies for assessing how plants interact with their biotic environments. To date he has authored more than 400 scientific books, papers and articles.
Mooney's recent research focuses on assessing the impacts of global environmental change on terrestrial ecosystems, especially on ecosystem function, productivity and biodiversity. Recent research includes studying the environmental and social consequences of industrialized animal production systems and examining factors that promote the invasion of non-indigenous plant species.
Mooney has played an international leadership role in numerous research settings, especially with problems related to biodiversity, invasive species, global warming and Mediterranean climates. In addition, he has been active in building up worldwide communities and networks of ecologists and scientists in other disciplines and arranging international conferences on the environment. He played a central role in the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP), building up an international organization of scientists and having an influential part in setting the guidelines for the formulation of environmental policies. He also has advanced numerous international research programs as Secretary General and Vice-President of the International Council for Science (ICSU).
Mooney earned his Ph.D. from Duke University in 1960 and started as an assistant professor at UCLA that same year. In 1968 he was recruited to Stanford University, where he was later appointed the Paul S. Achilles Professor of Environmental Biology in the School of Humanities and Science’s Department of Biology. A senior fellow with the Stanford Woods Institute as well as the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Mooney has led a wide range of national and international scientific activities related to environment and conservation.
Notable roles included coordinating the 1995 Global Biodiversity Assessment, co-chairing the Assessment Panel of the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, establishing and leading the Global Invasive Species Program and serving as lead review editor for the ongoing global assessment of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. His many accolades and awards include the 1990 ECI Prize in terrestrial ecology, the 1992 Max Planck Research Award in biosciences, the 1996 Eminent Ecologist Award from the Ecological Society of America, the 2000 Nevada Medal, the 2002 Blue Planet Prize, the 2007 Ramon Margalef Prize in Ecology, the 2008 Tyler Prize, the 2008 BBVA Foundation Award for Biodiversity Conservation, and the 2010 Volvo Environment Prize. -
Erin Mordecai
Associate Professor of Biology and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur research focuses on the ecology of infectious disease. We are interested in how climate, species interactions, and global change drive infectious disease dynamics in humans and natural ecosystems. This research combines mathematical modeling and empirical work. Our main study systems include vector-borne diseases in humans and fungal pathogens in California grasses.
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Ashby Morrison
Professor of Biology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur research interests are to elucidate the contribution of chromatin to mechanisms that promote genomic integrity.
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Mary Beth Mudgett
Senior Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences and Susan B. Ford Professor
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy laboratory investigates how bacterial pathogens employ proteins secreted by the type III secretion system (TTSS) to manipulate eukaryotic signaling to promote disease. We study TTSS effectors in the plant pathogen Xanthomonas euvesicatoria, the causal agent of bacterial spot disease of pepper and tomato. For these studies, we apply biochemical, cell biological, and genetic approaches using the natural hosts and model pathosystems.
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William Nelson
Rudy J. and Daphne Donohue Munzer Professor in the School of Medicine, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur research objectives are to understand the cellular mechanisms involved in the development and maintenance of epithelial cell polarity. Polarized epithelial cells play fundamental roles in the ontogeny and function of a variety of tissues and organs.
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Oliver Nguyen
Ph.D. Student in Biology, admitted Autumn 2021
BioOliver (they/them) is a PhD Student at Stanford's Department of Biology and the Center for Conservation Biology. They are interested in the intersection of urban ecology and environmental justice and is working on a project that looks at inequity and residential segregation in multiple US cities and how that impacts human and avian communities. They are passionate about community-based research and using spatial data, web development, and data visualization to create tools for local communities/organizations combatting environmental injustice. They earned their BA in Biology and Environmental Studies at Tufts University and has previously worked at Point Blue Conservation Science, NASA DEVELOP, MGGG Redistricting Lab, and the Center for Health and Environmental Justice.
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Lauren O'Connell
Associate Professor of Biology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe O'Connell lab studies how genetic and environmental factors contribute to biological diversity and adaptation. We are particularly interested in understanding (1) how behavior evolves through changes in brain function and (2) how animal physiology evolves through repurposing existing cellular components.
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Okikiola Morenike Olajide
Postdoctoral Scholar, Biology
BioOkikiola M. Olajide, PhD is a molecular virologist and emerging structural biologist specializing in HIV-1 vaccine research. Currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Barnes Lab at Stanford University, Dr. Olajide focuses on designing HIV-1 immunogens that elicit silent face-targeting broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) and developing innovative HIV infection models using human spleen organoids. Her research aims to bridge the gap between promising preclinical immunogens and their effectiveness in human clinical trials, advancing the path toward more effective HIV vaccines. Dr. Olajide earned her PhD in Biology from Albert Ludwigs University, Freiburg, where she investigated protein-protein interactions crucial for viral entry in bat influenza A viruses, pioneering approaches such as photo-affinity protein crosslinking and genetic code expansion. She also holds an MSc in Medical Virology from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, where she studied the role of cockroaches in the dissemination and sustained transmission of live-attenuated oral polio vaccine virus. During her BSc in Microbiology at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, she uncovered an ongoing rubella outbreak among at-risk, unvaccinated pregnant women. A strong advocate for advancing research in developing regions, Dr. Olajide actively supports training initiatives for scientists in Sub-Saharan Africa. Her commitment to mentorship, shaped by her experiences as an international scholar, drives her to guide the next generation of researchers in making meaningful scientific contributions.
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Julian Olaya Restrepo
Postdoctoral Scholar, Biology
BioJulián’s (he\his) research seeks to understand and strengthen the relationships between marine ecosystems, the communities that depend on them, and the policies that shape their management. Positioned at the intersection of ecology, spatial analysis, and social science, his work produces actionable insights to support the conservation and sustainable governance of marine systems. He approaches the ocean as a socioecological system—an integrated network where natural and human components co-evolve—and applies a transdisciplinary lens to address urgent global challenges, including biodiversity loss, fisheries collapse, and climate change. At Stanford University, he has led research on nature-based solutions, developing spatially explicit fishery models that assess how coral reef and mangrove restoration can enhance ecological resilience and improve fisheries outcomes for coastal communities across the Caribbean and U.S.
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Jessie Ong
Bachelor of Science, Biology
Masters Student in Biology, admitted Autumn 2024Current Research and Scholarly InterestsUnder mentorship of Jennifer Anne Co (PhD Candidate) in the Steven Banik Lab.
Engineering a molecular-glue detector in mammalian cells with CRISPR and degron based tools.
Creating platform for novel drug candidates through screening of a 15,000 protein ORFeome library. -
Michael Edward Palmer
Affiliate, Biology
Visiting Scholar, BiologyBioI'm visiting the Marc Feldman Lab while writing my book, "Clade Thinking: The Macroevolution of Recursive Clades and the Evolution of Evolvability". The motivating question of the book is, "Can macroevolution be reduced to merely the repeated iteration of microevolution?" (Answer: no, you would be missing a lot.)
I'm also doing some machine learning (ML) applied to genomics with the Fraser Lab, related to the evolution of cis-regulatory elements (CREs), which are involved in a lot of recent/rapid evolution in, say, mammals. We are doing what we call "in silico genome transplants": placing DNA variants from one species into the (ML-modeled) cellular environment of another species (or cell type, or individual with some pathology, etc.). We analyze changes in gene expression to detect various modes of selection on CREs.
I got my B.S. in Physics at Yale, and my Ph.D. in Computer Science at the California Institute of Technology. I've gone back and forth between academia (computational biology) and the tech industry in Silicon Valley. -
Stephen Palumbi
Jane and Marshall Steel Jr. Professor of Marine Sciences, Professor of Oceans and of Biology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe're interested in ecological, evolutionary, and conservation questions related to marine (and sometimes terrestrial) organisms and ecosystems. We use evolutionary genetics and molecular ecology techniques, and our fieldwork takes us all around the world. Currently, we're studying coral diversity, the adaptive potential of corals in response to climate change, the movement of organisms between marine reserves, genetic changes in abalone in response to environmental.
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Chenjie Pan
Basic Life Research Scientist, Biology
BioI obtained my PhD from Dr. Xiaodong Wang's lab, National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing/Tsinghua University. My major work during PhD is on the biochemical mechanism of myelin breakdown. I have expertise in in-tissue immunoprecipitation and pain behavior. Now I am working on axon guidance, degeneration, and plasticity in Dr. Marc Tessier-Lavigne's lab in Department of Biology.
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Jonathan Payne
Dorrell William Kirby Professor, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Professor, by courtesy, of Biology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy goal in research is to understand the interaction between environmental change and biological evolution using fossils and the sedimentary rock record. How does environmental change influence evolutionary and ecological processes? And conversely, how do evolutionary and ecological changes affect the physical environment? I work primarily on the marine fossil record over the past 550 million years.
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Kabir Peay
Senior Associate Dean for Education, Director of the Earth Systems Program, Professor of Biology, of Earth System Science and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur lab studies the ecological processes that structure natural communities and the links between community structure and the cycling of nutrients and energy through ecosystems. We focus primarily on fungi, as these organisms are incredibly diverse and are the primary agents of carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. By working across multiple scales we hope to build a 'roots-to-biomes' understanding of plant-microbe symbiosis.
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Deshan Perera
Postdoctoral Scholar, Biology
BioI am a Stanford Data Science Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Biology at Stanford University, supervised by Prof. Hunter Fraser. My research focuses on evolutionary dynamics and the development of high-performance computational tools to analyze complex biological systems. I earned my Ph.D. in Bioinformatics from the University of Calgary, Canada, where I investigated within-host evolution in pathogen genomics and cancer. Originally from Sri Lanka, I hold a First Class B.Sc. (Hons) in Biology from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. I am passionate about advancing computational biology through the design and implementation of scalable software solutions that leverage GPU, CPU, and SSD architectures for large-scale genomic and evolutionary analysis.
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Dmitri Petrov
Michelle and Kevin Douglas Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEvolution of genomes and population genomics of adaptation and variation
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Jonathan Pritchard
Bing Professor of Population Studies, Professor of Genetics and Biology
On Leave from 01/01/2026 To 06/15/2026Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe are interested in a broad range of problems at the interface of genomics and evolutionary biology. One current focus of the lab is in understanding how genetic variation impacts gene regulation and complex traits. We also have long-term interests in using genetic data to learn about population structure, history and adaptation, especially in humans.
FOR UP-TO-DATE DETAILS ON MY LAB AND RESEARCH, PLEASE SEE: http://pritchardlab.stanford.edu
