Biology
Faculty Bios & Courses
“One Course At A Time allows us to focus our attention on one
thing. We not only learn that topic better, we retain it better.”
Barbara Christie-Pope, a biology professor at
Cornell College who specializes in neuroscience
students carry out molecular analyses in
class, grow cells, and test their responses
to drugs. Students can also learn
anatomy in our own cadaver lab.
T
he best way to learn science
is to do it. In the field and in
the lab, our students gain
scientific skills through
direct experience.
600 FIRST STREET SW | MOUNT VERNON, IOWA 52314 | CORNELLCOLLEGE.EDU
Students gain experience in a range
of fields—from neuroscience, to
conservation biology, and to the
evolution of diversity in coral reefs and
tropical rainforests. By doing projects in
classes and during the summer, students
gain real research experience and
develop technical and practical skills.
Cornell College’s biology faculty
represent a wide range of specialties
and interests, including neurobiology,
biochemistry, genetics, and ecology. See
our research and faculty webpages for
examples of recent and ongoing projects.
The Biology department works closely
with the college’s unique Dimensions:
The Center for the Science and Culture
of Healthcare, which offers a full range
of support to students interested in
pursuing health-related careers.
BENEFITS OF ONE COURSE AT A TIME
Cornell College’s One Course At A Time
curriculum allows students to practice
“real-time” science that could not fit
into the limited time available in other
academic calendars. In our biology
courses, students make frequent field
trips to local wetlands, prairies, and
woods, where they can design and
implement ecological experiments. Our
One Course At A Time also offers
opportunities for extended off-campus
learning. Courses such as Ecology,
Entomology, and Plant Morphology are
taught at the Wilderness Field Station
in northern Minnesota. Other recent
courses have taken students to Costa
Rica, the Bahamas, Belize, and to the
Missouri Botanical Garden.
CURRICULUM HIGHLIGHTS
CAPSTONE
Senior Biology majors take part in
a capstone where they investigate a
biological problem. They can create
their own projects or take on problems
covered in off-campus trips, including
the study of fire coral in the Bahamas
and plant-insect interaction in tropical
rainforests. The project includes a
review of the literature, collection and
interpretation of data, and writing of a
research report.
STUDENT-FACULTY RESEARCH
Students have the opportunity to work
closely with professors on research.
Some current research in the biology
department includes viruses and
microfilms in relation to hospital
environments, gene plasticity in
Caribbean fire coral, conservation of
threatened species, including the ornate
box turtle in Iowa, the leatherback sea
turtle in Costa Rica, and fruit bats in
Guam. Many of the research projects
currently taking place on campus are
part of long-term research that involved
faculty and student collaboration, and
builds upon the work of previous years.
Students regularly present and publish
their research.
cont. >
Jeff Cardon
Professor of Biology
and Chemistry
Teaches courses in biology,
biochemistry and molecular
biology, and chemistry,
including Cell and Molecular
Biology, Microbiology and
Organic Chemistry. He is
involved in research on viruses
and biofilms. Ph.D., UCLA;
B.S., University of Utah.
Barbara Christie-Pope
Professor of Biology
Teaches courses in biology
and biochemistry and
molecular biology, including
Neurobiology, Immunology,
and Human Anatomy and
Physiology. She has research
interests in neurotoxicology
and degenerative diseases of
the brain. She is the director
of Dimensions: The Center
for the Science and Culture of
Healthcare. Ph.D., University of
South Alabama; B.S., University
of Oklahoma; B.S., University of
South Alabama.
Marty Condon
Professor of Biology
Teaches courses in biology
and biochemistry and
molecular biology, including
Biological Problems, Diversity:
an Evolutionary Perspective,
Evolution, and Plant Morphology.
She collaborates with researchers
in various institutions and
countries to study the evolution
and ecology of plant-animal
interactions. She also uses
molecular biology and field
biology to study species
diversity in tropical rain forests
and tallgrass prairies. Ph.D.,
University of Texas; B.S.
University of Michigan.
Andy McCollum
Professor of Biology
Teaches courses in biology and
environmental studies, including
Animal Behavior, Entomology,
Ecology. and Conservation
Biology. He is involved in
collaborative research projects
on the phenotypic plasticity of
tadpoles, and on the ecology
and conservation of threatened
and endangered species,
including the ornate box turtle
in Iowa and the leatherback sea
turtle in Costa Rica. Ph.D., Duke
University; B.S. North Carolina
State University.
cornellcollege.edu
/academics
DIMENSIONS: THE CENTER FOR THE SCIENCE AND
CULTURE OF HEALTHCARE
Dimensions is an academic enrichment program
for students of any major who are interested in
careers in healthcare. The program works closely
with Biology and other science departments to
provide research opportunities and internships
for students in health-related fields, including
physicians offices, public health offices, and
research laboratories.
OFF-CAMPUS RESEARCH
In addition to work done on campus and during
courses, students have the opportunity to take part
in research off-campus related to their interests.
Recent off-campus research by students was
done at the Emory University Gynecology and
Obstetrics Department, the University of Chicago,
the University of Colorado Medical School,
the University of Iowa Genetic Laboratory, the
University of Wisconsin, North Carolina State
University, and the University of California.
INTERNSHIPS/FELLOWSHIPS
Cornell’s One Course calendar offers students the
chance to do month-long or longer internships and
fellowships during the academic year, as well as
summer internships and fellowships. Among many
others, students have taken part in internships
at Mote Marine Lab in Sarasota, Florida, Big Cat
Rescue in Sarasota, Turpentine Creek Wildlife
Refuge in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, the Iowa
State Hygienic Lab in Coralville, Iowa, Child
Family Health International in New Dehli, India,
and Oaxaca, Mexico, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester,
Minnesota, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston,
Texas, the Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Colorado,
and the University of Maryland School of Medicine
in Baltimore, Maryland.
AFTER CORNELL
ALUMNI CAREERS
Assistant education specialist/teacher-naturalist
at Utah Division of Wildlife Resources in Hyrum,
Utah (Class of 2014)
Laboratory senior technician at Roquette America
Inc. in Mount Pleasant, Iowa (Class of 2013)
Physician assistant at Allina Health MD CARE in
Minnetonka, Minn. (Class of 2011)
Research assistant at the University of Chicago in
Chicago, Ill. (Class of 2008)
Information aid and educator at the Iowa
Department of Natural Resources, Mississippi
River Museum, in Dubuque, Iowa (Class of 2008)
Scientist at Integrated DNA Technologies in
Coralville, Iowa (Class of 2008)
Quality assurance technician II at Frontier Co-op
in Norway, Iowa (Class of 2007)
Research technician III at Syngenta Seeds, Inc. in
Slater, Iowa (Class of 2003)
Dentist at Peosta Dental in Peosta, Iowa
(Class of 2002)
Physician in Obstetrics/Gynecology at Texas Tech
University Medical Centers in El Paso, Texas
(Class of 2001)
Food inspection supervisor at the Minnesota
Department of Agriculture (Class of 2001)
Assistant professor at Augustana College in
Moline, Ill. (Class of 1998)
Professor at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa
(Class of 1995)
Science teacher at Maquoketa High School in
Maquoketa, Iowa (Class of 1994)
Research geneticist/assistant professor at the
USDA/Agricultural Research Station at University
of Wisconsin Madison in Madison, Wisc.
(Class of 1994)
GRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED
Ph.D in pharmacy from the University of
Minnesota in Minneapolis (Class of 2013)
M.S. in biology from the University of Western
Illinois in Macomb, Illinois (Class of 2013)
M.S. in biology from the University of Minnesota
in Minneapolis (Class of 2012)
M.S. in biomedical science at Midwestern
University in Downers Grove, Illinois
(Class of 2011)
M.S. in physician assistant studies from the
University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa
(Class of 2011)
Brian
Nowak-Thompson
Associate Professor of
Biology and Chemistry
Teaches courses in biology,
chemistry, biochemistry
and molecular biology,
and environmental studies
including Chemical Ecology,
Foundations: Cellular Biology,
and Biochemistry. Students in
his lab study the production
of bacterial metabolites that
inhibit plant pathogens. The
bacteria producing these
metabolites are sometimes
used in place of agricultural
pesticides to manage plant
disease. Ph.D. and M.S.,
Oregon State University; B.S.,
Northland College.
Craig Tepper
Professor of Biology
Teaches courses in biology
and biochemistry and
molecular biology, including
Cell and Molecular Biology,
Genetics, and Development.
His research interests focus
on gene regulation, molecular
genetics, and phenotypic
plasticity, and include
collaborations on the ecology
and molecular evolution of
fire corals and the phenotypic
plasticity of tadpoles. Ph.D.,
Utah State University; M.S.,
San Diego State University;
M.A., Indiana University; B.A.,
University of California,
Santa Barbara.
Tammy Mildenstein
Assistant Professor of Biology
Mildenstein joined Cornell in
2014 and is a conservation
biologist who works with
flying foxes in Guam and
the Philippines. M.S. and
Ph.D. in wildlife biology from
the University of Montana,
Missoula; B.S. in Electrical
Engineering from Iowa
State University.