Faculty Profile
Dana Somers
Associate Professor of Biology (2013)
Contact Information
on sabbatical Fall 2023
James Hall - Rector Complex Room 2219
717.254.8131
Bio
I teach classes in genetics, molecular biology, bioinformatics, and microbial fermentation. Research in my lab focuses on microbial genome evolution, particularly as it relates to understanding microbial ecology and biodiversity. We use functional, ecological, and evolutionary genomics to address these basic questions. In one project, my students and I are seeking to understand how climate-mediated changes in lake habitat can influence microbial communities by examining microbial diversity in Arctic lakes, a region where climate change has been particularly rapid. In another project, we are observing the evolutionary dynamics of laboratory domestication in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the related species S. paradoxus. Finally, a third project seeks to expand our understanding of yeast biodiversity by discovering and characterizing novel species of yeasts.
Education
- B.A., Franklin and Marshall College, 2002
- Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2007
