Print Page

Dr. Anthony Pires


I became a biologist because I have always enjoyed spending time in the company of organisms that are very different from us. Eventually I focused that gut-level appreciation into a Ph.D. in Neurobiology, and research interests that explore how networks of nerve and brain cells interact to generate behavior and regulate development. I am an organismal biologist, which means that I am mostly interested in the function of whole animals. However, in my teaching and research in Neurobiology I strive to make connections between interesting whole animal phenomena and underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms. On the opposite end of nature's scale, part of my early training was in marine ecology. I retain my connection to that field through my course in Invertebrate Zoology, and through summer research at the University of Washington's Friday Harbor Laboratories.


Courses Taught

Biology of Behavior (BIOL 124)
Invertebrate Zoology (BIOL 321)
Neurobiology (BIOL 330)

Educational Background

Postdoctoral Fellow University of Hawaii 1990-1993
Topic: Neural control of metamorphosis in larvae of marine invertebrates
Advisor: Michael G. Hadfield

Ph.D. Neurobiology Cornell University 1990
Thesis: Temperature coupling in field cricket acoustic communication
Advisor: Ronald R. Hoy

A. B. Biology Harvard College 1982
Thesis: An investigation of larval geotaxis in two bryozoans of the genus Bugula.
Advisor: Robert M. Woollacott

Research

Selected Publications (* indicates student co-author)

Pires, A., and R.M. Woollacott. (1997) Serotonin and dopamine have opposite effects on phototaxis in larvae of the bryozoan, Bugula neritina. Biol. Bull. 192:399-409.

Pires, A., S.L. Coon and M.G. Hadfield (1997). Catecholamines and dihydroxyphenylalanine in metamorphosing larvae of the nudibranch Phestilla sibogae Bergh (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia) J.Comp. Physiol. A 181:187-194.

Pires, A., R.P. Croll and M.G. Hadfield (2000). Catecholamines modulate metamorphosis in the opisthobranch gastropod, Phestilla sibogae. Biol. Bull. 198: 319-331.

Pires, A., T.R. Guilbault*, J.V. Mitten* and J.A. Skiendzielewski* (2000). Catecholamines in larvae and juveniles of the prosobranch gastropod, Crepidula fornicata. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. C 127: 37-47.

Croll, R.P., D.Y. Boudko, A. Pires and M.G. Hadfield (2003). Transmitter contents of cells and fibers in the anterior sensory organs of the gastropod mollusc Phestilla sibogae. Cell Tiss. Res. 314: 437-448.

Bishop, C.D., D. F. Erezyilmaz, T. Flatt, C. D. Georgiou, M. G. Hadfield, A. Heyland, J. Hodin, M. W. Jacobs, S. A. Maslakova, A. Pires, A. M. Reitzel, S. Santagata, K. Tanaka, and J. H. Youson (2006). What is metamorphosis? Integrative and Comparative Biology 46: 655-661.

Pechenik, J.A., D.E. Cochrane, W. Li, E.T. West*, A. Pires, and M. Leppo (2007). Nitric oxide inhibits metamorphosis in larvae of the slippershell snail Crepidula fornicata. Biol. Bull. 213: 160-171.

Bishop, C.D., A. Pires, D.Y. Boudko, L.L. Moroz, and M.G. Hadfield (2008). Analysis of NO-cGMP signaling during metamorphosis of the nudibranch Phestilla sibogae Bergh (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia). Evolution and Development, 10: 288-299.

Selected Presentations (* indicates student co-author)

Pires, A. and R.P. Croll (1998). Modulation of metamorphosis by catecholamines in the opisthobranch gastropod Phestilla sibogae. Abstracts, World Congress of Malacology, Washington, D.C. 1998: 262.

Pires, A., R.P. Croll and M.G. Hadfield (1998). Catecholamines modulate metamorphosis in a gastropod. Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 24 (2): 1840.

Pires, A., and A.C. Gilborn* (2001). Catecholamines in metamorphosis of primitive gastropods. Amer. Zool. 41: 1557.

Pires, A. and J.R. Penniman* (2003). Neural correlates of settlement and metamorphic competence in gastropod veliger larvae. Program No. 606.16. 2003 Abstract Viewer/Itinerary Planner. Washington, DC: Society for Neuroscience. Online.

Pires, A. (2005). Signals mediating rapid loss of cell adhesion in metamorphosis. Integrative and Comparative Biology 45: 1057.

Kondracki, M.A*., K.E. Severi*, and A. Pires (2006). Oxidative signaling in metamorphosis of a gastropod. Integrative and Comparative Biology 46: suppl 1: e217.