Faculty and Staff

Students using Biology equipment with Professor Hamilton

Faculty 

Bill Hamilton

Bill Hamilton

Biology Department Head and Professor of Biology, Interim Director for Environmental Studies

Hamilton teaches courses in biology and environmental studies, such as Yellowstone Ecology and Experimental Botany. His research pertains to ecosystem dynamics with a focus on animal-plant-soil interactions in Yellowstone National Park.

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Nadia Ayoub

Nadia Ayoub

Professor of Biology

Ayoub teaches Evolution, Genetics, Genomics, Foundations of Modern Biology and Genetic Engineering and Society. Her research focuses on how diversity at the molecular level translates into diversity at the organismal level. Current projects include describing the entire suite of genes needed for silk synthesis in the black widow spider and closely related cobweb weavers and developing phylogenetic markers for spider systematics.

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Sarah Blythe

Sarah Blythe

Associate Professor of Biology

Professor Blythe teaches Addiction and Drugs of Abuse, Vertebrate Endocrinology, Anatomy and Physiology, Food for Thought and Experimental Neurophysiology. Her research explores the physiological and neurobiological effects of obesity. Current projects in her laboratory involve diet-induced cognitive impairments, the gut-brain connection (microbiome), and time-restricted feeding paradigms.

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Paul Cabe

Paul Cabe

Professor of Biology

Professor Cabe teaches a number of genetics courses, as well as ornithology. His research interests focus on using modern molecular methods to collect data useful in answering questions in the areas of population genetics and evolutionary biology. He is also interested in ornithology, ecology and conservation biology.

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Robert Humston

Robert Humston

John Kyle Spencer Director for Environmental Studies and Professor of Biology

On Sabbatical AY 2024-2025

Humston teaches Introduction to Environmental Studies, Aquatic Ecology and Ecological Modeling, among other courses. He has researched fisheries management, fish ecology and dispersal/movement behavior of animals and plants.

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Lawrence E. Hurd

Lawrence E. Hurd

Herwick Professor of Biology

Hurd teaches zoology, ecology and biodiversity conservation. His research is on tropical biodiversity and entomology.

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Helen I’Anson

Helen I’Anson

AIM Program Co-Director, John T. Perry Professor of Biology and Research Science

Professor I’Anson teaches courses in fundamentals of biology, animal physiology, microanatomy, reproductive physiology and neuroendocrinology. She also supervises W&L students in the Biology Department’s St. Andrews-W&L Partnership Program. She is currently researching the neurobiology of puberty.

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Leah Lanier

Leah Lanier

Adjunct Laboratory Instructor of Biology

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Jessica LaPrice

Jessica LaPrice

Associate Professor of Biology

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David Marsh

David Marsh

Professor of Biology

Marsh teaches Intro to Behavioral Ecology, Microbiome, Field Herpetology, Animal Behavior and Statistics for Biology and Medicine. His research includes effects of climate change on endemic mountaintop salamanders, effects of roads and land use on frog and toad populations across the Eastern and central U.S., and population dynamics of terrestrial salamanders.

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Alicia Reigel

Alicia Reigel

Assistant Professor of Biology

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Natalia Toporikova

Natalia Toporikova

Associate Professor of Biology

Professor Toporikova’s courses include Biological Clocks and Rhythms, The Architecture of Living Systems, Dynamics of Biological Systems and Pregnancy: A Kiss in Time? In her research, she applies methods of computational modeling to study a wide range of biological systems. Some recent projects include neural control of breathing, pregnancy initiation in rats, and daily circadian cycle.

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Fiona Watson

Fiona Watson

Associate Professor of Biology

Professor Watson’s courses include Cell Biology, Animal Development, Neural Imaging and CSI: W&L. Her overall research interests encompass two main areas of investigation: 1) the recovery of optic nerve axons of adult Xenopus using a nerve crush injury model, and 2) the effects of pesticide exposure on the neurogenesis of sensory neurons.

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Gregg Whitworth

Gregg Whitworth

Associate Professor of Biology

Whitworth’s courses include Data Science: Visualizing and Exploring Big Data and The Molecular Mechanics of Life.

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Charles Winder

Charles Winder

Laboratory Instructor

Winder holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of North Carolina, Asheville, and a master\’s in botany from the University of Tennessee

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Staff 

Kelly Bezold

Kelly Bezold

Molecular Research Associate

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Michael Hepner

Michael Hepner

Laboratory Technician

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Leigh Ann McCoy

Leigh Ann McCoy

Administrative Assistant

Emeritus Faculty  

Cleve Hickman

Professor Emeritus of Biology

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Maryanne Simurda

Maryanne Simurda

Emeritus Professor of Biology

Simurda teaches Fundamentals of Biology, Parasitology, Microbiology, Immunology and Virology. She studies the effects of temperature and the presence of ampicillin or tetracycline on the motility of Serratia marcescens, a bacterium and opportunistic pathogen found in nosocomial infections. She also works with W&L\’s Legal Clinic, providing biological information and explanations needed for court hearings in black lung disease cases.

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Jack Wielgus

Professor Emeritus of Biology

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Department Info

  • Howe Hall
    Washington and Lee University
    Lexington, Virginia 2440

Bill Hamilton

Biology Department Head, Professor of Biology

Leigh Ann McCoy

Administrative Assistant