Positions

Overview

  • I am a small-town girl and an Army brat, born in Europe but raised in the American Mid-West. I love to travel, learn about the world, and meet new people. I also like time to read a quiet book with a glass of wine in complete isolation from other human beings. I love to get down to the nitty gritty of a problem, really sort out all the tiny pieces and put them in order. I also love to stand outside a problem and see it in the context of the whole. As a biologist, I am fascinated by the way organisms uses limited energy resources to carry out their biological imperative: to reproduce. As an educator, I hope to infect as many young people as possible with a love and appreciation of biology and to help them become savvy consumers of information.

    • Selected Publications

    Academic Article

    Year Title Altmetric
    2021-12-01 Caenorhabditis elegans ced-3 caspase is critical to maintain oocyte provisioning and offspring viability in stressful environments.  PLOS One/PLOS.  16:e0260573. 2021-12-01
    2021-01-01 Germ cell apoptosis is critical to maintain Caenorhabditis elegans offspring viability in stressful environments..  PLoS ONE.  16:e0260573. 2021-01-01
    2019-01-01 Comparative genomics of 10 new Caenorhabditis species.  Evolution Letters.  3:217-236. 2019-01-01
    2014-07-01 BMP antagonism by Noggin is required in presumptive notochord cells for mammalian foregut morphogenesis..  Dev Biol.  391:111-124. 2014-07-01
    2011-06-01 RNA-binding protein FXR2 regulates adult hippocampal neurogenesis by reducing Noggin expression..  Neuron.  70:924-38. 2011-06-01

    Report

    Year Title Altmetric
    2022-11-01 Higher-order epistasis shapes natural variation in germ stem cell niche activity.  The Journal Current Biology. 2022-11-01

    Presentations

    Research Overview

  • Though separated from us by at least 600 million years of evolution, Caenorhabditis nematodes use a remarkably conserved tool-kit of genes to navigate the challenges and dangers of being alive on planet Earth. Oxidative stress, UV light, and excessive heat represent only a few of the miseries that plague our cells, leading to disease, aging, and death. Like us, these little worms deftly navigate an onslaught of stressors in their environment all while finding enough food to grow up and make babies, securing the immortality of their genes. The mysteries of this ability are largely taken for granted, and yet, could provide important clues for the prevention of age-related disease. My research takes advantage of the elegant simplicity of nematodes to probe the genetics and physiology of growth, stress resistance, aging, and reproduction at the level of the whole organism and in the context of its evolutionary fitness.

    • Principal Investigator On

    Investigator On

    Teaching Overview

  • I take teaching very seriously, striving to implement state-of-the-art pedagogical techniques while keeping my eye on designing and meeting learning outcomes that are critical for student success in the workforce and in society. I use every opportunity to engage students in active learning and writing to enhance their science and information literacy.

    • Full Name

  • Sarah R Fausett