Surprise Yourself
Information For

Biology Faculty and Staff

Helen Bartlett
helen bartlettAssistant in Biology
bartlehs@etown.edu | 717-361-1318

 

Dr. David Bowne
dr. david bowneAssistant Professor of Biology
bowned@etown.edu | 717-361-1317

 

Dr. Diane Bridge
dr. diane bridgeAssociate Professor of Biology
bridged@etown.edu | 717-361-1177

 

Dr. Jane Cavender
dr. jane cavender Professor of Biology
cavender@etown.edu | 717-361-1448

 

Dr. Aaron Cecala
dr. aaron cecalaAssistant Professor of Biology
website                                                                             cecalaa@etown.edu | 717-361-1341

Dr. Aaron L. Cecala earned a B.S. in Neuroscience and Psychology from Allegheny College in 2002 and a PhD in Neurobiology and Anatomy from the University of Rochester in 2009. He was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology at Franklin and Marshall College (2009-10) before beginning his tenure-track career at Elizabethtown in the fall of 2010. He currently teaches the two-semester sequence in Human Anatomy and Physiology (Bio201 & 202), Comparative Anatomy (Bio341) and General Physiology (Bio 324 & 324L). Dr. Cecala’s research centers around how mammalian nervous systems learn to produce accurate and precise movements using information gathered from the organism’s surrounding environment. He is a member of the Society for Neuroscience and the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience and has published papers in the Journal of Neurophysiology and Vision Research.

Dr. Jonathon Coren
dr. jonathon corenAssociate Professor of Biology and Chair
corenj@etown.edu | 717-361-1342

Jonathon Coren graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Biology and a minor in Spanish in 1983. He obtained his Ph.D. in Genetics from Cornell University in 1991. He then did an academic postdoc in MaryAnne Bjornsti's lab at Thomas Jefferson University from 1991 to 1993 and an industrial postdoc in Nat Sternberg's lab at DuPont Merck Pharmaceuticals from 1993 to 1997. He was an adjunct professor in the Biology department at Saint Joseph's University from 1997 to 1999. He was an assistant professor in the Biology department at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma form 1999 to 2002.

Dr. Thomas Murray
dr. thomas murrayProfessor of Biology
murrayte@etown.edu | 717-361-1474

Dr. Thomas Murray has been teaching at Elizabethtown since 1994. He has a B.A. in Biology from the College of the Holy Cross and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Connecticut. His interests include ecosystem ecology, and aquatic system restoration. He is a member of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, North American Lake Management Society and the North American Benthological Society and has published on topics including wetland restoration, stream chemistry, and eutrophication. He teaches Aquatic Ecology, Ecotoxicology, Marine Biology, a First Year Seminar and introductory laboratories. He and his students are currently engaged in two stream projects. In the first, they are collaborating with investigators across the country to evaluate the role of riparian vegetation on stream temperature. In the second, they are monitoring the long term restoration of the Conewago Creek and its tributaries as part of the Conewago Initiative.

Dr. Debra L. Wohl
dr. debra wohlAssociate Professor of Biology
wohld@etown.edu | 717-361-1326

Dr. Debra L. Wohl's research focuses on microbial interactions, particularly on the relationship between species diversity and ecosystem function. Dr. Wohl currently has two on-going research projects. As part of a large-scale study of antibiotic resistance in soil inhabiting bacteria (i.e., Enterobacter spp.), Dr. Wohl, and co-Investigator Dr. David Bowne, are currently studying variables such as metal pollution and land-use practices that may contribute to the development and spread of antibiotic resistance. A second project of Dr. Wohl's, funded by the National Institute of Health, is to determine whether there is a significant positive relationship between the administration of antibiotics during a vaginal delivery and the development of eczema, asthma, or allergies in children under the age of 2. Dr. Wohl teaches introductory biology courses, general microbiology classes, and a course in pathogenic microbiology. She earned a Ph.D. in Ecology and a M.S. in Entomology from the University of Georgia and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Jodi L. Yorty
dr. jodi yortyAssistant Professor of Molecular Biology
yortyj@etown.edu | 717-361-1325

Dr. Jodi L. Yorty earned a B.S. in Biochemistry from Lebanon Valley College in 1999 and a Ph.D. in Immunobiology from The Pennsylvania State University in 2004. Her thesis research focused on the exciting field of neuroimmunology, a branch of immunology that seeks to understand the cellular and molecular relationships among the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. As a post-doctoral fellow from 2004-2006 Dr. Yorty studied the activation, function, and maintenance of cancer-specific T lymphocytes, which culminated in a publication in Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy. Dr. Yorty began her tenure track career at Elizabethtown College in 2007. Her current research is elucidating the cellular and molecular effects of stress hormones on anti-cancer T cell lymphocytes and the in vitro and in vivo progression of cancer. She is actively seeking funding for her research. Dr. Yorty is a member of the Council on Undergraduate Research, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society. Dr. Yorty teaches Introduction to General Biology, Molecular Biology, Immunology and Nutrition.

Elizabethtown College