Engineering and Computer Science Directory

Dr. Sarah Baker received her MS and PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests include herpetology, conservation biology, and wildlife disease. She serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Wildlife Management, and the student competition coordinator for the Louisiana Academy of Sciences Annual Meeting.  

Whitnee Brame is currently a Lab Instructor and Coordinator of microbiology laboratories in the Department of Biology. Whitnee earned her master’s degree in Instructional Technology from McNeese State University in 2020 and her bachelor’s degree in Clinical Laboratory Science from McNeese State University in 2009.  Whitnee is responsible for maintaining live stocks of bacterial cultures, preparing media…

Dr. William Dees received his MS and PhD from Clemson University and Old Dominion University, respectively.  His research interests include medical/public health entomology; disease vector and vectorborne/infectious disease surveillance, prevention and control; and global/public health initiatives.  He serves on the editorial board of the Proceedings and Bulletin of the Louisiana Academy of Sciences and chairs the Operational…

Ms. Tara Duck received her MS from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She serves as the faculty advisor for the McNeese Pre-Pharmacy Society and as a senator on the McNeese Faculty Senate

Dr. Amber Hale earned her BS from Texas A&M University and PhD from the University of Kentucky. Her research is centered on investigating the roles of apoptosis and autophagy during development and pathological conditions. Currently she is focusing on the autophagic response in honeybees. Dr. Hale serves as the faculty sponsor for the Pre-Medical Society…

Dr. Caroline Hennigan received her BS from McNeese State University and her PhD from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. She teaches Microbiology, Immunology, Genetics and Seminar. She also serves as a Pre-Med/Pre-Dent advisor. Her research interests include assessing the prevalence of microplastic pollution in Southwest Louisiana and studying the effects of…

Dr. Justin Hoffman received his M. S. in biology from Fort Hays State University and Ph.D. in applied ecology from the University of Nebraska.  His research interests include mammalogy, conservation biology, and biogeography.  He serves as an associate editor for the Western North American Naturalist and program coordinator for the Integrative Biology concentration of the M.S. Environmental and Chemical…

Dr. Kathy Jackson received her BS from McNeese State University in Chemistry and Zoology and her PhD from the University of New Mexico in Biomedical Sciences. Her current research is focused on DNA barcoding of Tardigrades for species identification.

Dr. Connie Kersten received her MS and PhD from University of Idaho. She then completed an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship at Texas Tech Medical School. Her research interests are tissue regeneration and reproductive physiology. Dr. Kersten is also an RN and is a member of the American Nurses Association and Louisiana State Nurses Association. 

Danielle Maxwell received her BS in Aquatic Biology and Resource and Environmental Studies and her MS in Biology from Texas State University where she studied freshwater fish ecology. She is a member of the American Fisheries Society and a charter member of the Southwest Louisiana Master Naturalists where she teaches workshops on the diversity and…

Ms. Melinda Melton received her Master of Science degree in Biology from the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 2000 and her Master of Arts in European History from Louisiana State University in 2001.  Her biology thesis studied mating behavior in bobwhite quail, Colinus virginianus, including investigating the sensory bias theory of mate choice.  Melinda primarily teaches Human Anatomy…

Dr. Harry A. Meyer received his BS in Biology from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, MS in Zoology from the University of Michigan, and PhD in Marine Ecology from the University of South Florida. His research interests focus on the distribution, genetic diversity, ecology, and evolution of tardigrades (water bears).

Dr. Lauren Smith received her PharmD from Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy. She continues to practice pharmacy intermittently while teaching Anatomy and Physiology courses at McNeese.

Dr. Christopher Struchtemeyer received his PhD in Microbiology from the University of Oklahoma.  His research interests include wastewater microbiology, microbial source tracking, the microbial ecology of hydrocarbon contaminated environments, and microbial syntrophy.  He is also a member of the national and south-central branches of the American Society for Microbiology and serves as co-chair for the…