Eastern University | Academics | Departments and Majors | Biology

Faculty Background and Research

Dr. Ben Dube

I began my scientific career as a Plant Protection Research Officer in Nematology in Zimbabwe. This was followed by a teaching and research career in Nematology, Parasitology and Invertebrate Zoology at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ). For five years during this period, I was Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences. In addition, I was also a UZ team leader for the joint UZ/Nihon University of Japan research grant for the advancement of molecular technology in vegetable production for the small scale farmers of Zimbabwe, UZ coordinator of a collaborative UZ/IUP exchange link agreement and a fish parasite research collaborator with the UZ/Belgian Flemish Universities Fisheries project.

Prior to my joining Eastern University in Fall of 2005, I spent three and half years at Indiana University of Pennsylvania as a Visiting Professor and later as a temporary faculty in the Dept of Biology. Inspired by the plight of small holder farmers in Zimbabwe in their quest to increase vegetable food production and by my overall desire to be a practical, environmentally conscious scientist in the fight to alleviate hunger among the less privileged, my research interest has remained focused on an ecologically sustainable integrated nematode control strategy.Plant-parasitic nematodes particularly rook - knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.,) are a severe constraint on agricultural vegetable production. My current research involves the integrative use of bacteria (Pasteuria penetrans), fungi (Paecilomyces lilacinus), soil solarization and organic amendments in managing root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) on vegetable crops. As Christians, we have been commissioned to use our creative capacities to glorify God in service to others and in the management of His creation.

GRANTS RECEIVED

2 -year $14,000 research grant by the Lindback Foundation “Integrated biological control strategy for effective and sustainable management of plant - parasitic nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) on tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum),” April 2006.
Faculty Development Grants of $1000 from Eastern University – to attend a nematology training workshop at the University of Florida, Gainesville, July 29 to August 2, 2006 and attend a joint annual Society of Nematologists/ American Phytopathological Society meeting held in San Diego, CA , July 29 to August 1, 2007.

SUBMITTED ARTICLE

Dube, B. (2008). The effectiveness of Pasteuria penetrans, Vertcillium chlamydosporium, Paecilomyces lilacinus and organic waste in controlling Meloidogyne sp. under greenhouse conditions. Indian Journal of Nematology.

PRESENTATIONS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES

Dr. Benjamin Dube, delivered two presentations on biological control of plant-parasitic nematodes – one at the 64th annual meeting of the American Scientific Affiliation at Baylor University, Texas, and the other at the 16th annual ECHO Agricultural conference held in Fort Myers, Florida.
Presented a lecture on integrated biological control of plant- parasitic nematodes (Meloidogyne spp) to ECHO delegates in Fort Myers, Florida, October 7 – 10, 2006.
Presented a research poster at the joint annual Society of Nematologists/ American Phytopathological Society meeting held in San Diego, CA from 29 July to 1 August 2007.
Participant of an academic advisory council of The AuSable Insititute of Environmental Studies, one of the largest field station programs in North America, held at Pacific Rim, Whitbey Island, Washington State from October 6 – 9, 2005.
Attended a workshop on the biological control of nematodes held at University of Florida, Gainesville campus (IFAS) July 29 – August 2, 2006.
Attended an ECHO annual agricultural conference held in Fort Myers Florida, October 7 – 10, 2007.

Dr. Maria E. Fichera

I was always fascinated by the way in which God intricately designed all living creatures from head to toe (and beyond). As an undergraduate biology major, I became interested in research and spent a summer at SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine investigating agents that affect insulin secretion under a fellowship from the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. At the University of Pennsylvania where I received my Ph.D., I studied the molecular mechanisms of drug action against the intracellular parasite, Toxoplasma gondii.

My current research explores herbicide action and resistance in Toxoplasma gondii. This parasite, which can infect all vertebrate animal hosts including humans, is a close relative of the parasite that causes malaria. Toxoplasma infection is quite common and goes unnoticed in a large portion of the adult population where a healthy immune system keeps the parasite at bay. However, this parasite can cause disastrous consequences for those with compromised immune systems, such as AIDS patients or the unborn. Infection is controlled through extensive drug treatment protocols, which often yield allergic side effects for the patient. Therefore, alternative treatments to kill Toxoplasma without harming the host are currently being investigated.

In an effort to search for novel chemotherapeutic agents, my research examines herbicide resistance in Toxoplasma gondii. Dinitroaniline herbicides, commercially utilized weed-killers since the 1960’s, have been shown to kill Toxoplasma and other related parasites while exhibiting very low toxicity in mammalian cells. These agents are thought to affect tubulin proteins – cellular building blocks that are necessary to construct microtubules. Microtubules play a role in essential cell activities such as cell division, movement, and intracellular transport. Studies on herbicide action in plants and green algae identified specific mutations in tubulin DNA that correlated with dinitroaniline resistance. To assess the nature of herbicide resistance in Toxoplasma, dinitroaniline-resistant mutants were generated in the laboratory through chemical mutagenesis, and the tubulin genes from mutant parasites were isolated and sequenced.

Parasites resistant to the dinitroaniline herbicide benfluralin exhibited a point mutation in nucleotide position 1801 of α-tubulin (guanine to adenine substitution) which, when translated, revealed a substitution of valine with methionine at amino acid 252. Likewise, parasites resistant to the dinitroaniline herbicide trifluralin exhibited a point mutation in nucleotide position 1850 of α-tubulin resulting in a thymine to cytosine substitution. Translation of this mutated sequence revealed a substitution of methionine with threonine at amino acid 268. These mutations are similar to known mutations that confer resistance to oryzalin (another dinitroaniline) in Toxoplasma or goosegrass.

Electron crystallography data of bovine tubulin dimers was employed to display the mutations on the tubulin protein structure. The amino acid substitutions for the benfluralin and trifluralin mutants are in close proximity of each other in the core of α-tubulin.

To confirm that the identified mutations in the tubulin DNA are responsible for the parasites’ resistance to dinitroaniline herbicides, the mutant tubulin DNA gene will be placed into wild type, non-resistant parasites through transformation, and their conversion into dinitroaniline-resistant parasites will be studied. This aspect of the project is already in progress.

GRANTS RECEIVED

Provost Fellowship from Eastern University ($3,000), May 2007
Academic Research Enhancement Award from NIH, 1 R15 AI49962-01 “Dinitroaniline herbicide resistance in Toxoplasma gondii” $107,500 (7/15/01-6/30/04)

PRESENTATIONS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES

Ackley, L., Brown, E.*, Oberholtzer, A.*, Yetter, C* and M.E. Fichera. Action of dinitroaniline herbicides in the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. 21st Annual Saint Joseph’s University Sigma Xi Student Research Symposium, St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA, 23 April, 2010. Abstract and poster presentation.
Dr. Fichera also wrote a first draft of a manuscript of the same title and will continue work on that this year.
“Witnessing God’s creation under the microscope – science as a gift and call to stewardship” – delivered on Jan. 17, 2009 to leaders of First Presbyterian Church of Pottstown on their annual retreat. Invited to speak by Pastor Carter Lester.
Caldwell, K., Davis, C., Heino, A.E., Judkins, M., Story, E. and M.E. Fichera. Action of dinitroaniline herbicides in the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. 19th Annual Saint Joseph’s University Sigma Xi Student Research Symposium, St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA, 18 April 2008. Abstract and poster presentation.
Fichera, M.E. Action of dinitroaniline herbicides in the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Annual meeting of the International Society of Protistologists - Providence-Warwick, Rhode Island, 4-9 August 2007. Abstract and oral presentation.
Mensch C, Fichera M, and Lawton JA. “Heterologous Expression and Functional Characterization of Secretion and Nuclear Localization Signals in OrfM, a Potential Virulence-Associated Protein from the Plant Pathogen Erwinia amylovora.” 18th Annual Saint Joseph’s University Sigma Xi Student Research Symposium, St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA, 20 April 2007. Poster presentation.
Fichera, M.E., Ayana, M., and Heino, A.E. 2005. Action of dinitroaniline herbicides in the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Abstract published in Abstract and Index Issue of the Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science, vol. 78, March 2005. Oral presentation.
Fichera, M.E., Oh, J., Lilley, P., Brown, E. and Roos, D.S. 2003. Dinitroaniline herbicide resistance in Toxoplasma gondii. Abstract published in Abstract Issue: Seventh International Congress on Toxoplasmosis. Oral presentation.
Fichera, M.E. and D. S. Roos. 1997. The apicoplast: a novel drug target in protozoan parasites. Nature 390: 407-409.
Tilley, M., M. E. Fichera, M. E. Jerome, D. S. Roos, and M. W. White. 1997. Toxoplasma gondii sporozoites form a transient parasitophorous vacuole that is impermeable and contains only a subset of dense-granule proteins. Infection and Immunity 65: 4598-4605.
Fichera, M. E., M. K. Bhopale, and D. S. Roos. 1995. In vitro assays elucidate peculiar kinetics of clindamycin action against Toxoplasma gondii. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 39(7): 1530-1537.

Dr. Rebecca Hays

I have always loved nature and wanted to understand how the world around us works, how the plants, animals, water, and soil interact to create such a beautiful world. I majored in Ecology and Marine Biology at Millersville University, where I focused my studies on nutrient chemistry, wetlands, and estuaries. I took field courses at the Marine Science Consortium at Wallops Island, VA and enjoyed learning more about the field aspect of ecological research. I earned my Master’s in Marine Science at the University of Delaware, where my research focused on nutrient and water cycling through the beachface at Cape Henlopen, DE. I stayed at the University of Delaware for my Ph.D. work in Oceanography and returned to research that was more biological in nature – salt marshes! I used aerial photography, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), and GIS to examine the relationship between vegetation and ground elevation in a salt marsh. I also developed a model for determining the role of salt marshes in altering the nutrient loads that flow through them. As a postdoc, I explored paleoceanography using diatoms and bulk sediments from the Southern Ocean.

I am very excited to be a professor at Eastern University and look forward to teaching biology courses, especially environmental courses. My research will continue to focus on nutrient chemistry in wetland and aquatic systems, using remote sensing and GIS to examine vegetation patterns, and examining the relationships between organisms and their hydrological and geochemical environments. I am also interested in studying the impacts of humans on their environment, perhaps through eutrophication studies or examining vegetation change overtime due to human expansion. If you are interested in field research opportunities, please let me know.

I am also excited to be at Eastern University as it will be my first time being part of a Christian academic community. The ability to combine my faith with my passion for science is wonderful, as it will allow me to further understand God. To me, scientific study and research is another way to get to know God, to understand how He thinks, and to worship.

Dr. Wayne Lutz

I received my B.A. degree from Muhlenberg College, and later graduated from the Palmer College of Chiropractic (Davenport, Iowa), magna cum laude, in 1979, where I received my Doctor of Chiropractic degree. After receiving Diplomate status from the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners, passing exams of the Michigan and Pennsylvania Board of Chiropractic Examiners and the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners and receiving licenses to practice within these states – I associated in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey in 1984, and had a private practice in Ocean City, N.J., until retiring in summer 2006.

My continuing education has been ongoing since graduation, and has included over 800 hours of coursework encompassing Physical Therapy, Orthopedics, Sports Injury, Biomechanics, Nutrition, Pain Control, Diagnostics, and Radiology.

During my years in Ocean City, my practice was a family- oriented, treating patients of all ages. In addition to treating the subjective complaints of my patients, I was fortunate to be able to integrate my Christian faith into my professional private practice by making my practice a place where one could receive more than just the NJ state mandated/recognized standards for chiropractic care and treatment. I also used it as a place to “plant seeds” and witness.

Dr. Wendy Mercier

From the time I was young, I wanted to be a nurse. This I accomplished when I received my BSN from Penn State, and worked in critical care for 15 years. By then, my other passion, physical fitness, became a new professional pursuit for me. I became increasingly interested in the role of exercise in the health of the human body.

Exercise is not merely a recreational pursuit, but a first-line therapeutic treatment for many of the diseases, such as those I encountered as a nurse. Furthermore, if implemented with regularity, exercise can help prevent the diseases that kill the majority of people in developed countries.

This led me to graduate school at Temple University where I received my Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology. My passion became studying the human body; in disease, in health, and in response to physical activity.

I am interested in all aspects of exercise and health. My research at Temple involved regulation of body temperature in men and women during exercise in hot and humid conditions. I also studied thermoregulation of exercising women at different points in their menstrual cycle. I assisted others on studies that looked at nutrient use of obese women during exercise, and insulin sensitivity in exercising rats. I have become convinced that the human body was exquisitely designed and intended by our Creator to do and adapt to physical work. Furthermore, the lack of physical activity leads to less than optimal physical and mental health. I am delighted to teach anatomy, physiology, and health-related courses here at Eastern University. I especially enjoy teaching students about the miracle that is the human body, and how to best care for the temple of the Holy Spirit.

John Munro - Bio (pdf)

I have worked in ecological consulting since 1973, with extensive experience in applied ecology (Environmental Impact Statements, mitigation plans, regulatory consulting, etc.). In recent years, my professional design and consulting work has focused on the restoration of degraded or destroyed natural ecological systems, especially wetland habitats. I have taught 16 courses, mostly for professionals, and developed and teach the Environmental Regulation & Policy course (Bio. 420) at Eastern University every spring of odd-numbered years.

Dr. Dave Unander

I began my scientific career as a plant breeder, studying both genetics and agronomy/agricultural ecology. After several years at the University of Puerto Rico, researching disease resistance and harvest quality in vegetables and dry beans, I worked at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, studying tropical plants with potential antiviral effects as part of a five year grant. I came to Eastern in 1992, where I teach Ecology and related courses. Two of my most popular electives are 'Medical Botany', and 'Tropical Biology'. Since 2003, I have taught 'Tropical Agriculture and Missions' through the Au Sable Institute and ECHO, based in south Florida.

Much of my focus outside teaching is currently in service related to sustainable agriculture. I serve as a trustee on the boards of Christian missions that focus on sustainable community development. For these organizations, as well as with mission teams from Eastern, I often travel to Latin American countries. ECHO (www.echonet.org) is a Christian service mission providing training and agricultural extension in poorer countries globally, Floresta (www.floresta.org) promotes reforestation, especially in the Caribbean basin and Hope Seeds (www.hopeseeds.org) aids many relief and development programs of other organizations with appropriate, high quality seeds.

I also teach a course (BIO 180- Science in Society), built around a case study of genetics and the concept of "race". Partly out of my own personal experience growing up in Chicago and later living and traveling in Latin America, partly out of my training in genetics, and always rooted in the Bible, addressing the damage done by the concept of race is a priority for me. Shattering the myth of race: genetic realities and Biblical truths developed out of this class, and is available from Judson Press (www.judsonpress.com).

BOOK

Unander, Dave. 2000. Shattering the myth of race: genetic realities and Biblical truths, Judson Press, King of Prussia, PA.

PRESENTATIONS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES

Dr. David Unander also attended the ECHO conference and presented a seminar called “Introduction to tropical ecosystems.” While at ECHO, Dr. Unander also served as a Spanish translator, and represented the AuSable Institute. Given his expertise in the field, he also developed and offered a new course in our department called “Plant Taxonomy” which was well received.
Numerous scientific seminars on themes related to sustainable agriculture, at ECHO Agricultural Conferences, and other technical venues inside and outside the U.S., in English or Spanish.
Seminar on book, Shattering the Myth of Race, Universidad Nacional Evangélica de la República Dominicana, Dominican Republic, 2005 (in Spanish); at the International Meeting of Christians for Biblical Equality, in 2005 and in 2003; at Westmont College in 2002; at Eastern Mennonite University and at North Park University in 2003, and at a number of churches in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the Dominican Republic.
“Science Aiding Agriculture: What Approach Works?” International Meeting of ASA and Christians in Science, Edinburgh, Scotland, 2007.
I have a series of publications from the 1980s and 1990s related to anti-viral activity in Phyllanthus, and various plant breeding-related research in vegetables and legumes. For more details, contact, me.

Dr. David L. Wilcox

My education is in medicine and population biology, and my specific scientific research interests center on theoretical models of fitness, the nature of genomic blueprint hierarchies, selective models for punctuated change, and human origins. I have written and published a number of integrative studies in the faith / science area, including a book length manuscript Supernatural Selection in review for publication. My presuppositions for science (and life) begin with the conviction that we live in an open and providentially governed universe which the Lord Jesus Christ creates, maintains (holds together), and governs by the Word of His power. That activity, I maintain, we usually call natural law, and science is possible because He is faithful in that governance. I also assume the (limited) rationality of the human mind (made in God's image) which can therefore hope to understand God's universe.

Further, I consider scientific investigation to be a particular sort of response to the Creation Mandate given to humanity. Thus, the business of a particular science (like biology) is to investigate a specific aspect of that "word" as it manifests itself in the world around us.

PUBLISHED WORKS

Wilcox, D. L. 2005 God and Evolution: A Faith-based Understanding. Judson Press, King of Prussia, PA.
Wilcox, D. L. 2003. Finding Adam: The Genetics of Human Origins? in Perspectives on an Evolving Creation. Ed. Keith Miller, W. B. Eerdman’s Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, pp. 234-253.
Wilcox, D. L. 2004. Establishing Adam: Recent Evidences for a Late-Date Adam (AMH at 100,000 BP), Perspectives in Faith and Science - V.56 No.1: 49-54.
Wilcox, D. L. 2006. The Original Adam and the Reality of Sin, Perspectives in Faith and Science Spring.

PRESENTATIONS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES

Dr. David Wilcox presented a seminar to the Eastern community entitled “He Said, She Said: An Origin Tale.” He is currently writing a manuscript with the same title and also a book on human origins called 15 Theses on Theology’s Door: The Matter of Adam - A Confluence of Evidence from Genes, Bones and Tools.
“Fine-Tuning the Universe,” National Conference of ASA, Golden, Colorado, July 2003.
“Explaining Theistic Evolution,” Regional meeting of ASA, Eastern University. Nov 2003.
“Explaining Theistic Evolution,” Perspectives, Eastern University SGA, Mar 2004.
“Looking over God’s Shoulder: The Nature and Meaning of Design,” National Conference of ASA, Messiah College, PA, Aug. 2005.
“Human Origins: Biogenetic and Theological Issues,” Suter Science Seminar, Eastern Mennonite University, Nov. 11, 2005.
Paper on “Intelligent Design” to national meeting of High School student governments in August 2006.
Seminar on “Human Origins” given at Eastern’s Perspectives series, April 2007.
Workshop on “Presenting difficult ideas” at Eastern’s faculty workshop, May 2007.
Workshop on “Creating humans: A Confluence of Evidence – A New Model” at Eastern’s faculty workshop, May 2008.