Regular Faculty
Gary Schindelman, Co-Chair
Resident Professor, Biochemistry
B.S., State University of New York at Binghamton; Ph.D., New York University
In addition to teaching at Occidental, Gary Schindelman is a biological curator for WormBase at Caltech.
Andrew K. Udit, Co-Chair
John Stauffer Professor of Chemistry
H.B.Sc., University of Toronto; Ph.D., Caltech
Andrew Udit’s research in Chemical Biology focuses on perturbing coagulation with virus nanoparticles, and catalysis using enzymes.
Advisory Committee
Renee Baran
Professor, Biology
B.A., Macalester College; Ph.D., UC Berkeley
Renee Baran teaches genetic analysis, developmental biology, and introduction to cell and molecular biochemistry.
Jeffrey Cannon
Associate Professor, Chemistry
B.A. Occidental College; Ph.D. University of California, Irvine
Jeff Cannon teaches Organic Chemistry and does research in organic synthesis and catalysis.
Chris Craney
Professor, Chemistry
B.S., University of Puget Sound; M.S., D.A., Washington State University
Chris Craney teaches physical chemistry I (kinetics) and biochemistry.
Douglas Duquette
Resident Associate Professor, Chemistry
B.A., M.A., Harvard University; Ph.D., Caltech
Office Hours:
Tuesdays & Fridays from 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm
Shana Goffredi
Professor, Biology
B.A., University of San Diego; Ph.D., UC Santa Barbara
Shana Goffredi’s research interests concern beneficial symbiotic partnerships between bacteria and invertebrates.
John McCormack
Director and Curator of the Moore Laboratory of Zoology; Professor, Biology
B.S., University of Arizona; Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
Dr. McCormack uses museum specimens and genomes to study the evolutionary history of birds, focusing especially on how both ancient landscape changes and more recent human-caused environmental changes affect birds’ distributions, appearance, and DNA. As Director of the Moore Laboratory of Zoology and Curator of its bird and mammal collection, he is a champion of museum collections and their potential for understanding and reversing the biodiversity crisis.
Karen Molinder
Resident Assistant Professor, Biology
B.A. Occidental, Ph.D U.C.L.A.
Dr. Molinder teaches biochemistry and molecular biology.
Raul Navarro
Assistant Professor, Chemistry
B.S., Yale University; Ph.D., California Institute of Technology
Raul Navarro’s research focus lies in developing new transition metal-catalyzed reactions and applying them in the synthesis of biologically active natural products.
Gretchen North
John W. McMenamin Endowed Chair in Biology
B.A., Stanford University; M.A., University of Connecticut; M.A., College of William and Mary; Ph.D., UCLA
Gretchen North investigates how plants cope with physically challenging conditions.
Cheryl Okumura
Associate Professor, Biology
B.A. Pomona College; Ph.D. UCLA
Cheryl Okumura teaches Public Health Biology, Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology and Microbial Pathogenesis.
Roberta Pollock
Professor, Biology
B.S., Emory University; Ph.D., Harvard University
Roberta Pollock teaches immunology, molecular biology, introductory biology, and Gender and Science.
Gary Schindelman
Resident Professor, Biochemistry
B.S., State University of New York at Binghamton; Ph.D., New York University
In addition to teaching at Occidental, Gary Schindelman is a biological curator for WormBase at Caltech.
Joseph Schulz
Professor, Biology
B.S., Indiana University; Ph.D., UC San Diego
Joseph Schulz teaches zoology, biochemistry, and vertebrate physiology. His research focuses on the activity and evolution of venom peptides in fish-hunting cone snails.
Vikram V. Shende
Assistant Professor, Chemistry
B.S. University of Michigan-Dearborn; M.S., Ph.D. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Vik Shende teaches Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry, and his research group investigates how enzymes can be used to efficiently assemble complex molecules.
Kerry Thompson
Professor, Biology
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., UCLA
Kerry Thompson teaches introduction to cell and molecular biochemistry, stem cell biology, and neurobiology.
Andrew K. Udit
John Stauffer Professor of Chemistry
H.B.Sc., University of Toronto; Ph.D., Caltech
Andrew Udit’s research in Chemical Biology focuses on perturbing coagulation with virus nanoparticles, and catalysis using enzymes.