Research

As part of an R1 university, a core part of the mission of our department is to conduct a wide range of cutting-edge scientific research, much of which is supported by funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Our researcher have a global reach that includes studies in South America, Auatralia and Southeast Asia. We have a wealth of collaborations scattered around the US, as well as with local institutions such as Children's Hospital,  the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, and the US Environmental Protection Agency. The three research foci of our department are:  Sensory Biology & Behavior (SBB); Ecology, Evolution & Conservation (EEC); and Molecular Biology, Genetics, & Physiology (MBGP).  

Oportunities for Undergraduate Research

Professor and student working in an office

Many of our undergraduate students gain valuable "hands on" experience assisting with research or taking a major role that may ultimately result in coauthorship of a peer-reviewed scientific publication. All the details, which can be found by clicking here, depend arrangements made with the faculty mentor.

Publications are sorted by the last name of the faculty member (bold type). Undergraduate, graduate and posdoctoral UC coauthors are indicated by ***, **, and *, respectively. See individual faculty profiles for complete lists of publications.

  • Holmes, C.J.**, Chakraborty, S.**, Ajayi, O.M.**, Uhran, M.R.***, Frigard, R.***, Stacey, C.L.***, Susanto, E.E.***, Chen, S.C., Rasgon, J.L., DeGennaro, M. Xiao, Y., &  Benoit, J. B.  (2025). Multiple blood feeding bouts in mosquitoes allow for prolonged survival and are predicted to increase viral transmission during dry periods. iScience 28(2) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.111760
  • Kelley, M., Holmes, C.J.,** Herbert, C., Rayhan, A., Joves, J., Uhran, M.***, Klaus, L.***, Frigard, R.***, Singh, K.***, Limbach, P.A. Addepalli, B. & Benoit, J. B. (2025). Tyrosine transfer RNA levels and modifications during blood‐feeding and vitellogenesis in the mosquito, Aedes aegypti. Insect Mol. Biol. 34:65-80 https://doi.org/10.1111/mve.12747
  • Ajayi, O.M.**, Susanto, E.E.***, Wang, L.***, Kennedy, J.***, Ledezma, A.***, Harris, A.C.***, Smith, E.S.***, Chakraborty, S.**, Wynne, N.E., Sylla, M., Akorli, J., Otoo, S., Rose, N. H., Vinauger, C., & Benoit, J. B. (2024). Intra‐species quantification reveals differences in activity and sleep levels in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. Med. Vet. Entomol. 38(4): 482-494 https://doi.org/10.1111/imb.12950
  • **Sterner, Z.R., ***Jabrah, A., Shaidani, N.-I., Horb, M.E., ***Dockery, R., **Paul, B., Buchholz, D.R. (2023). Development and metamorphosis in frogs deficient in the thyroid hormone transporter MCT8. Gen Comp. Endocrinol. 331:114179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2022.114179
  • **Paul, B., **Shewade, L.H., Buchholz, D.R. (2022) cyp21a2 knockout tadpoles survive metamorphosis despite low corticosterone. Endocrinol. 164:1-12. https://doi.org/10.1210/endocr/bqac182
  • **Paul, B., ***Dockery, R., ***Valverde, V.M., Buchholz, D.R. (2023) Characterization of a novel corticosterone response gene in Xenopus tropicalis tadpole tails. Front. Endocrinol. 14:1121002. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2023.1121002
  • Rathore, S.** Stahl, A.**, Benoit, J.B. & Buschbeck, E.K. (2023) Exploring the molecular makeup of support cells in insect camera eyes. BMCgenomics 24, 702 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-023-09804-5
  • Rathore, S.**, Hyland-Brown, R.***, Jester, A.***, Mitra, A.T.**, Layne, J.E. Benoit, J.B. & Buschbeck, E.K. (2024) Osmosis as nature’s method for establishing optical alignment at the microscale. Current Biology, 8;34(7):1569-1575.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.052
  • Meece,M**, Rathore, S**, Zagazeta, D.***, & Buschbeck, E.K. (2025). Assessing recovery of Drosophila melanogaster photoreceptors with different wavelengths of red and infrared light. J. Exp. Biol. 228 (6): jeb250043. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.250043
  • Chiurillo, M.A., Ahmed, M.**, González, C., Raja, A.*** & Lander, N. (2023) Gene editing of putative cAMP and Ca2+ -regulated proteins using an efficient cloning-free CRISPR/Cas9 system in Trypanosoma cruzi. J. Eukaryot. Microbiol. 70 (6):e12999. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/jeu.12999
  • Bertolini, M.S., Cline, S.E., Chiurillo, M.A., Mantilla, B.S., Eidex, A., Crowe, L.P., Qiu, D., Jessen, H.J., Saiardi, A & Docampo, R. (2025) Generation of inositol polyphosphates through a phospholipase C-independent pathway involving carbohydrate and sphingolipid metabolism in Trypanosoma cruzi. mBio. 2: e0331824. doi: 10.1128/mbio.03318-24.
  • Conover, D.G. and Bergstein, R.D. (2022) The rise of non-native invasive plants in wooded natural areas in southwestern Ohio. Ecol. Rest., 40(2), pp.94-97.
  • Conover, D.G., Canterbury, O.M. & Al-Bayer, S.A., 2023. Evidence for an arboretum as a point source of exotic invasive plants in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ecol. Rest., 41(4), pp.160-164.
  • Fackler, J.R.**, Dworjan, M.**, Gazi, K.S.**, Grogan, D.W. (2022) Diversity of SIRV-like viruses from a North American Population. Viruses 14: 1439 https://doi.org/10.3390/v14071439
  • Jain, R.**, Grogan, D.W. (2022) Biological role of the major AP (abasic site) endonuclease of an archaeon from geothermal environments. Extremophiles 27:1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-022-01286-9                                                                                                         
  • Boggs, T.E.**, Friedman, J.S.***, Gross, J.B. (2022) Alterations to cavefish red blood cells provide evidence of adaptation to reduced subterranean oxygen. Sci. Rep. 12:3735. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07619-0
  • Gross, J.B., Berning, D.**, Phelps, A.***, Luc, H. (2023) An analysis of lateralized neural crest marker expression across development in the Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus. Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 11:1074616. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2023.1074616
  • Berning, D.**, Heerema, H.***, Gross, J.B. (2024) The spatiotemporal and genetic architecture of extraoral taste buds in Astyanax cavefish. Commun. Biol. 7:951. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06635-2
  • Jayne, B.C., Bamberger, A.***, Mader, D., Bartoszek, I. (2022) Scaling relationships of maximal gape in two species of large invasive snakes, brown treesnakes and Burmese pythons, and implications for maximal prey size. Int. Org. Biol. https://doi.org/10.1093/iob/obac033
  • Jayne, B.C. (2023). Scaling relationships of maximal gape and prey size of snakes for an egg-eating specialist (Dasypeltis gansi) and a dietary generalist (Pantherophis obsoletus). J. Zool., London. 321(2): 99-112. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.13102
  • Petersen, J.C., Campbell, L.C., Jayne, B.C. & Roberts, T.J. (2024) Mechanical properties of snake skin vary longitudinally, following large prey ingestion, and among species. J. Exp. Biol. 227 (24): jeb248142 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.248142
  • Chiurillo, M.A., Ahmed, M.**, González, C.**, Raja, A.***, & Lander, N. (2023) Gene editing of putative cAMP and Ca2+ -regulated proteins using an efficient cloning-free CRISPR/Cas9 system in Trypanosoma cruzi. J. Eukaryot. Microbiol. 70(6):e12999. https://doi.org/10.1111/jeu.12999
  • Chiurillo, M.A., Carlson, J.**, Bertolini, M.S.**, Raja, A.***, & Lander, N. (2023) Dual localization of receptor-type adenylate cyclases and cAMP response protein 3 unveils the presence of two putative signaling microdomains in Trypanosoma cruzi. mBio. 14(4):e0106423. doi: 10.1128/mbio.01064-23
  • Lander, N. (2024). mSphere of Influence: Compartmentalized cAMP signals in American trypanosomes. mSphere. 9(2):e0063523. https://doi.org/10.1128/msphere.00635-23
  • Vázquez-Alonso, M.**, D. L. Lentz, N. P. Dunning, C. Carr, A. Anaya Hernández, K. Reese-Taylor. (2022). Lidar-based aboveground biomass estimations for the Maya archaeological site of Yaxnohcah, Campeche, Mexico. Remote Sensing 14: 3432. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14143432
  • Lentz, D. L., N. P. Dunning, P. Sheets, T. Beach, S. Luzzader-Beach, A. Wyatt, C. Robin. (2022). Ancient Maya intensive agriculture and water management practices. In Sustainability and Water Management in the Maya World and Beyond, Edited by Jean T. Larmon, Fred Valdez and Lisa J. Lucero, pp. 40-60. University Press of Colorado, Boulder, CO. ISBN: 978-1-64642-231-9.
  • Lentz, D. L., & Pohl, M. E. (2025). Deciphering the artificial evolution of domesticated plants within dynamic habitats. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 122(1), e2422179121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2422179121
  • *Parlin, A.F., **Kendzel, M.J., Taylor, O.R.  Jr., Culley, T.M., Matter, S.F. & Guerra, P.A. (2023). The cost of movement: assessing energy expenditure in a long-distant ectothermic migrant under climate change. J. Exp. Biol. 226: jeb245296 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.245296
  • Park, K.Y., Lucas, M. J. Roland, J., Matter, S.F. & Keyghobadi, N. (2024). Immigration allows population persistence and maintains genetic diversity despite an attempted experimental extinction. Royal Society Open Science 11: 244057 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240557
  • Durney, J.S., Debinski, D.M. & Matter, S.F. (2025). Life stage hypothesis modeling determines insect vulnerability during developmental life stages to climate extremes. Ecosphere 10.1002/ecs2.70147 https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70147
  • Dexheimer, A.F., Outomuro, D.*, Dunlap, A.S., and Morehouse, N.I. (2023) Spectral sensitivities of the orchid bee Euglosssa dilemma. J. Insect Physiol., 144:104464 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2022.104464
  • Tibbetts, E.A., Harris, O.K.**, Morehouse, N.I., and Caves, E.M. (2024) The evolution of simplifying heuristics in visual cognition: Categorization, specialization, and visual illusions. Ann. Rev. Vision Sci., 10:11.1-11.22 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-vision-100923-015932
  • Sung, J.Y.**, Fogle, J.A.***, & Morehouse, N.I. (2025) Spatial overlap and behavioral interactions amongst four Habronattus jumping spider species in a mixed-species assemblage. Ecology and Evolution, 15(4):e70871 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70871

 

  • Polak, M. & McEvey, S.F. (2022). Refutation of traumatic insemination in the Drosophila bipectinata species complex. Biology Letters 18: 20210625. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0625.
  • Polak, M., Bose, J.*, Benoit, J.B. & Singh, H.*** (2023) Heritability and preadult survivorship costs of ectoparasite resistance in the naturally occurring Drosophila-Gamasodes mite system. Evolution 77: 2068-2080 https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpad118
  • Hilgenhof, R., Gagnon, E., Knapp, S., Aubriot, X., Tepe, E.J., Bohs, L., Giacomin, L.L., Gouvea, Y.F., Martine, C.T., Orejuela, A. & Orozco, C.I., Peralta, I.E. & Särkinen, T. (2023). Morphological trait evolution in Solanum (Solanaceae): evolutionary lability of key taxonomic characters. Taxon 72(4): 811–847.
  • von Konrat, M., Tepe, E.J., et al. (2024) From spectators to stewards: Transforming public involvement in natural history collections. Natural History Collections and Museomics 1: 1-33. https://doi.org/10.3897/nhcm.1.138247
  • Bryant, J.**, Vazquez-Alonso, M., &  Tepe, E.J. (2025). Pollen and morphometric analysis reveal Solanum tavinuuyuku (Solanaceae), a new dioecious species from Mesoamerican Solanum sect. Anarrhichomenum. PhytoKeys 255: 1–22. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.255.140014