Regular Faculty

Professor Garyt Schindelman

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.
Professor Andrew Udit

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

Professor Renee Baran

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.
Jeff Cannon

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.
Professor Chris Craney

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.
Doug Duquette headshot

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 headshot

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 photo

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.
Professor Raul Navarro

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.
Professor Gretchen North

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.
Professor Cheryl Okumura

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

Roberta Pollock

Professor, Biology
B.S., Emory University; Ph.D., Harvard University
Roberta Pollock teaches immunology, molecular biology, introductory biology, and Gender and Science.
Professor Garyt Schindelman

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.
Professor Joseph Schulz

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.
Professor Kerry Thompson

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.
Professor Andrew Udit

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.
Contact Biochemistry
Norris Hall of Chemistry 300A / Bioscience 207