Charles Derby, PhD

I am a Regents Professor of Neurobiology and Biology at Georgia State University. My formal training was in integrative and comparative biology, with a focus on neuroscience, animal behavior, and marine science. This had lead me to pursue various research questions with the approach of a neuroethologist or neuroecologist, which includes reductionism to the molecular, biochemical, and cellular levels, but also includes synthesis to understand how sensory systems work, how animals behavior, and the impact of their behavior on organization of the communities in which they live. I study animals for their own sake, as a curious naturalist sensu Niko Tinbergen. But I also use animals as model organisms to explore principles of organization and practical applications that may have impact on human welfare, such as understanding basic design features of stem cell niches, how we perceive complex chemical mixtures, how establishing a marine reserve can enhance the catch of commercially important species, and developing new antimicrobial agents with human applications. My interests have lead me to collaborate and associate with many very talented faculty, colleagues, and students of all ages, who have brought much more to me and my group than I to them. And so it will be.