NEURO
HOME PAGE FACULTY COURSES RESEARCH
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KECK
GRANT (Neuroscience
and the Humanities)
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Susan M. Rankin,
Professor of Biology
Mailing Address:
Biology Dept., Allegheny College
Meadville PA 16335
Phone: 814-332-5375
Fax: 814-332-2789
E-mail: srankin@allegheny.edu
Office: Biology 303
Susan's
Home Page
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Susan received a B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.
Susan teaches Animal Physiology, Comparative Anatomy, Introductory Biology,
Physiological Mechanisms of Behaviors/Reproduction, and a course for
non-science majors entitled "Insects and Humans".
Susan's overall objective is to explore the hormonal regulation of
egg development and the behaviors that accompany reproduction. She has
used a number of crustacean and insect systems to look at these biological
phenomena. In fact, insects have been widely used as model systems to
study basic mechanisms of hormone action and the physiological bases
of specific behaviors. Moreover, identification of neuropeptides that
regulate hormone production (such as the recently described allatostatins)
are essential to the development of biorational pesticides. (In fact,
some of her work has been integrated into currently marketed pesticides).
Students in her laboratory typically utilize behavioral observations,
coupled with manipulations of hormone levels, microsurgery, tissue culture,
and radiochemical or immunological identification and quantification
of various hormones.
