Biology Faculty

Ming Y. Zheng
Professor
Department Chair
Biology

p: 978.867.4388
e: ming.zhenggordon.edu

B.S./M.S. Southwest Agricultural University, China
Ph.D. in Genetics & Plant Breeding, Washington State University

Dr. Zheng joined Gordon College in 2002 with experiences in both academia and industry. His research focuses on plant biotechnology and crop breeding. He uses an immature pollen system he established to study the cellular and developmental events associated with somatic embryogenesis of plant cells. He has published numerous journal papers and book chapters on the subject. His more recent interests include the ethical, legal, social and economic impacts of genetic engineering.

Charles K. (Chuck) Blend
Assistant Professor
Biology

p: 978.867.4885
e: chuck.blendgordon.edu
w: Blend research website

B.S. The University of Texas-Dallas
M.S. Texas A&M University
Ph.D. The University of Southern Mississippi.
Post-Doc Department of Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University under Norman O. Dronen

Dr. Chuck Blend's primary interest is Deep-Sea Parasitology. Specifically, the taxonomy & morphological systematics, evolutionary biology, ecology and zoogeography of parasitic helminths (digeneans, cestodes, monogeneans, acanthocephalans and nematodes) infecting a variety of marine organisms in general, and parasitizing deep-sea fish in particular. He is currently working on the parasites of deep-sea chemosynthetic environments (e.g., hydrothermal vents, cold seeps, OMZs, whale & kelp falls, etc.) and would like to be able eventually to use submersibles in the exploration of the parasites that exist in the abyssal and even hadal (trench) depths of our oceans. Chuck has ongoing collaborative projects with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Texas A&M University and the University of Hawaii. Dr. Blend's other main research interest in his lab, for which he has presented several papers, is in the field of exobiology--the search for and study of extraterrestrial life.

Dorothy F. Boorse
Associate Professor
Biology

p: 978.867.4382
e: dorothy.boorsegordon.edu
w: Boorse website

B.S.Gordon College
M.S. Cornell University
Ph.D. University of Wisconsin--Madison

Dr. Boorse joined the Gordon Faculty in January, 1999. Her primary research and teaching interests are in aquatic community ecology, and invasive species, and her biological research focus is on vernal pools. She spends agreat deal of time connecting science to non-scientists and looking at ways science and faith integrate, particularly in the area of environmental ethics. As a representative of the Noah Alliance, Dr. Boorse testified on behalf of a Christian environmental ethic in a House of Representatives Subcommittee hearing in June 2005. She is the advisor for the newly formed student group, Advocates for Sustainable Futures, and is the AuSable Institute of Environmental Studies representative at Gordon. Dr. Boorse is the author of Global City, a set of interactive activities published by Prentice-Hall to accompany Environmental Science, a textbook by Richard Wright. Dr. Boorse was a fellow of the Center For Christian studies from 2005-2006 and received the Distinguished Junior Faculty Award at Gordon College in 2002. She has a strong interest in mentoring women in science.

Gregory S. Keller
Associate Professor

p: 978.867.4852
e: greg.kellergordon.edu

B.S. Alma College
M.A. The College of William and Mary
Ph.D. in Ecology with Conservation Biology Emphasis, The Pennsylvania State University

Dr. Keller joined Gordon College in 2007 after teaching for five years at Eastern New Mexico University, where he was an Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology. As a conservation biologist, Dr. Keller focuses his research on the impacts humans have on biological systems, including a variety of taxonomic groups (birds, mammals, amphibians, and insects) and a variety of biological scales (habitats, landscapes, and ecosystems). Primarily, Dr. Keller and his students try to determine how migratory birds are impacted by habitat fragmentation, and if using tools like Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and analysis of foraging behavior allow researchers to determine causes of population declines in these species.  Most recently, Dr. Keller has established a study analyzing the uniqueness of bog habitats in northern New England compared to other non-forested habitats.
 

Craig M. Story
Associate Professor
Pre-Health Professions Advisor

p: 978.867.4393
e: craig.storygordon.edu
w: Story website

B.S. Gordon College
Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Brandeis University
Post-Doc at MIT and Harvard Medical School under Hidde L. Ploegh

Dr. Story's research interests have focused on molecular immunology. His graduate and post-doctoral work involved work on the mechanism of antibody transport across the human placenta, and the ways viruses trick the immune system to escape detection. Dr. Story also worked in the biotechnology industry in the area of drug delivery using the body's own antibody transport system. Most recently, his research has focused on generating antibodies for diagnostic tools that can be used by the world's poor. On a recent sabbatical at the Whitehead Institute, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dr. Story was able to explore the use of new micro-scale tools to speed up the process of antibody screening. He is currently working to bring this technology to Gordon College.