Research Interests: Molecular Biology, Immunology
My recent work has focused on the application of DNA fingerprinting to fungal identification and classification. The genus Aspergillus, which includes a number of plant and animal pathogens, has been the focus of my research over the last several years. I have identified a number of polymorphic nuclear and mitochondrial DNA markers that are useful in making species identifications in the aspergillus group.
A number of undergraduate students have participated in this work during the school year and during the summer as Borer Fellows.
I also have an interest in how parasitic microbes interact with their hosts. In addition to their role as classic infectious agents, a number of viruses and bacteria are thought to be involved in the etiology of autoimmune disease, heart disease and cancer.