Faculty

Degrees:

• AB Dartmouth College, Biology
• PhD University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Biology

Other Involvement:

• Biochemistry Program faculty member
• Pre-Health Advisor
• Sigma Xi: The Scientific Honor Society, President, IC Chapter

Overview of current research:

We investigate the adhesive secretions produced by snails and slugs. We are currently focused on the sticky adhesive gels used as a defensive secretion by a few species of slugs. When threatened, these slugs secrete huge amounts of this adhesive from their back; it will spread rapidly over any surface it contacts and adhere strongly. This would provide a serious deterrent to any animal that tried to bite them!

One thing that makes these glues particularly exciting is that they are dilute gels, yet remarkably tough. Most gels are outstanding lubricants and you wouldn’t expect them to be useful adhesives, but these adhesive gels have many properties that make them well-suited for sticking to tissues; they adhere to wet, irregular surfaces, they set quickly, they can be remarkably tough, and they can bend and flex with the tissues rather than peeling or cracking. Thus, our goal is to determine how this glue gains these particular properties, so that we can guide the development of novel biomedical adhesives.

If you interested in conducting research in my lab, then please follow the link below:

• Student-Faculty Research Options