Our Faculty

Students attending UMCP's Biological Sciences program at Shady Grove are taught by University of Maryland, College Park faculty who have strong research backgrounds in their areas of expertise.

Tom Stanton, Ph.D.

Program Director

(BCHM 463: Biochemistry; BSCi 423: Immunology lab)

Dr. Tom Stanton earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Western Maryland College in Westminster, MD. After graduation he worked at the NIH before being drafted and going to Vietnam. He earned his PhD from the University of Alabama in Birmingham studying the structure and function of lymphocyte cell surface proteins. After post-doctoral stints at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in NYC, and Cal Tech in Pasadena, CA, he joined the faculty at the University of Washington where he taught Immunology and authored 30 some scientific papers dealing with the expression and structure of cell surface proteins. After about 10 years he sought new horizons and left academics to work in the biotechnology industry where he directed development of new products at Life Technologies in Gaithersburg, MD, Sigma Chemical in St. Louis, MO, and KPL back in Gaithersburg. He returned to academics at the Univ. of Maryland Shady Grove in 2005 where he teaches Immunology and Biochemistry, enjoys talking to students, and directs the Biological Sciences program at Shady Grove.

Nancy Noben-Trauth, Ph.D.

Assistant Program Director

(BSCI330:  Immunology and Cell Biology)

Nancy Noben-Trauth received a B.S. in Biology, and a B.A. in Chemistry from Bemidji State University, in northern Minnesota where in the winter, students shuttled between classes using underground tunnels! She obtained a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Iowa in 1992. She pursued postdoctoral studies at the Max-Planck-Institute for Immunology in Freiburg, Germany under the mentorship of Nobel laureate Georges Köhler, at the The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, ME and at the National Institute of Health under William Paul. Her research investigated the immune responses of interleukin-4 receptor knock out mice that she generated through gene targeting in embryonic stem cells. Before joining the University of Maryland, Dr. Noben-Trauth was an Assistant Professor at the George Washington University, where she ran an independent research program funded by federal grants and brought ImmuKnowledge™ to undergraduate, graduate and medical students. In addition to peer-reviewed publications, her awards include the GWU George Gamow Undergraduate Research Mentor Fellowship in 2003 and the Golden Apple Award in Teaching Excellence, GWU Medical School, in 2008. She has a collection of autographs that includes signatures from Francis Crick and James Watson.  

John Parascandola, Ph.D. 

Dr. John Parascandola, a native of New York City, never received his high school diploma because he could not swim the pool, a requirement (for males only) at his school. Nevertheless he was admitted to and obtained his B.S. in Chemistry from Brooklyn College in 1963. He then went on to earn an M.S. in Biochemistry and a Ph.D. in the History of Science (1968) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During his professional career, he has served as Professor of History of Science and History of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as Chief of the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine, and as Public Health Service Historian. He currently teaches courses in the history of modern biology and the history of public health at the University of Maryland. He is the author of The Development of American Pharmacology: John J. Abel and the Shaping of a Discipline (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992), which received the George Urdang Medal of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy in 1994; and of Sex, Sin, and Science: A History of Syphilis in America (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2008). He is also the recipient of the Surgeon General's Medallion, the highest award that can be given by the U. S. Surgeon General.

George Sherwood, Ph.D.

(PHYS 121 & 122: Introduction to Physics I & II) 

Dr. George Sherwood is a published author, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army with 29 years of service, and a retired nuclear /environmental /safety engineer. He has over 39 years of experience in government project management, and is presently providing support to the $570 million Zheleznogorsk Plutonium Production Elimination Project (ZPPEP) to safely shut down the last Russian Plutonium Production Reactor (ADE-2). He has served as an environmental engineer and environmental impact statement expert for the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) for 5 years and a nuclear safety engineer and project manager for the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) for 6 years. He has also worked as a licensing engineer and manager for various nuclear projects with the Department of Energy (DOE) from 1979 to 1997 and served as a staff member on the DOE advisory committee on nuclear facility safety. Beside teaching at the University of Maryland, College Park, Dr. Sherwood is also a faculty member at Montgomery College and Frederick Community College in Maryland. Dr. Sherwood received his Bachelor of Science in Physics from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1965 and his Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1969. He is fluent in Russian and well-acquainted with German. 

Donald Watkins, Ph.D. 

(BSCI 440: Mammalian Physiology)

Dr. Don Watkins earned a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Louisville, his hometown. He worked as an engineer at the major appliance facility of General Electric in Louisville, for the chemical company DuPont de Nemours Co., both in Virginia, a facility which manufactured nylon yarn, and in Tennessee where monomer chemicals were produced for dacron. He moved to Madison, Wisconsin, for graduate school and received a Ph.D. degree in physiology from the U. Wisconsin. Don then spent two years doing research and teaching physiology to medical students at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. The language of instruction in Uganda was English, a second language for all of the students who came from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Returning to the U.S., he assumed a faculty post in the Physiology Department, George Washington University School of Medicine, where he lectured to students in medical, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, nuclear medicine technology, and physical therapy programs for more than 30 years. He and his family spent a sabbatical year in France doing research on ion transport by intestinal membrane vesicles. His other research interests include trace element balance and the effects of diuretics on renal function. Spring 2009 is his first semester at UMD, Shady Grove campus. 

 Jiangsong Jiang

(BSCI 330: Cell Biology & Physiology)

Professor Jiang is a 5th year graduate student in the Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is now conducting research with Dr. Shuwei Li at the Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (CARB,UMBI). In Dr. Li's laboratory, Professor Jiang is developing new methods to decipher diverse protein-protein interactions through the integration of chemical and biological tools. Professor Jiang received a B.S. in Biotechnology and M.S. in Molecular Biology in China, where for three years, his research was Rice Genomics. 

David Rollins, Ph.D.

(BSCI424: Pathogenic Microbiology; BSCI425: Epidemiology)

Dr. Dave Rollins performed and directed research for the U.S. Navy for more than 20 years and has taught at the University of Maryland for 14 years. Additionally, 3 years ago, he accepted an Associate Professor position at Prince Georges Community College, where he is also Co-Coordinator of the STEM (Science-Tech-Engineering-Math) Collegian Center.  Dr. Rollins has taught General Microbiology, Pathogenic Microbiology and Epidemiology & Public Health at both undergraduate and post-baccalaureate levels. He pursued & attained his Ph.D. in Dr. Rita Colwell’s lab at the University of Maryland.  His 20 year research career at the Naval Medical Research Institute included 9 years as Head of the Bacterial Physiology & Immunology Section in the Enteric Diseases Program & one year as Interim Director, where he managed a scientific and support staff of 26 and administered a budget of $1.8 million. His research experience ranged widely within medical, food and environmental microbiology and epidemiology.  His contributory achievements include early work on cultivation, pathogenesis and epidemiology of Campylobacte; 1^st report of virulence of Aeromonas sobria for humans; co-development of 1^st oral vaccine against campylobacteriosis to reach FDA clinical trials; co-invention of SELeCT (Salmonella, E.coli, Listeria, Campylobacter Test) for rapid detection and enumeration of foodborne pathogens; defining viable but nonculturable survival of Campylobacter in environment; survey of bacterial contamination of poultry flocks on Delmarva Peninsula; and identification of hazards of polluted water for NOAA and Navy divers and the general public. During his research career, Dr. Rollins’ publications included 2 books, 7 book chapters, over 30 scientific manuscripts in peer-reviewed scientific journals and more than 70 presentations/published abstracts at national and international meetings. 

Andrew Wolvin, Ph.D. 

( COMM 482: Intercultural Communications)

Dr. Andrew Wolvin (B.S., M.A., University of Nebraska; Ph.D., Purdue University) is a Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland. His research areas include the study of listening behavior and communication management. Named one of the top 100 active researchers in communication studies, Professor Wolvin has published many books, research studies, and essays. He has been the president of the International Listening Association and the Eastern Communication Association, and he has held several professional offices in the National Communication Association. A Lily Teaching Fellow, he received a National Communication Association Teaching/Learning Scholar award and the first Outstanding Teacher award from the International Listening Association.  Professor Wolvin has extensive experience as a communication consultant and trainer in international organizations.

Iris V. Allen

(HLTH377: Human Sexuality)

Iris Victoria Allen, MPH, has been involved with HIV prevention research for over 5 years. Currently, she is the Project Coordinator for Aza Sisters, an HIV prevention program for African American girls ages 11 to 13 that attend selected DC Public Charter Schools. Prior to her current position, she served as a behavioral interventionist on two research projects that focused on HIV prevention for minority adolescents. In addition, she has performed data analysis on a qualitative study exploring the risky sexual behaviors of men who have sex with men (MSM) while a contract employee at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ms. Allen is also a Human Sexuality instructor at College Park. She received her B.A. from George Washington University in English with a minor in Public Health and her Master's in Public Health from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, where her concentration was behavioral science and health education. Ms. Allen is currently a doctoral student within the School of Public Health at University of Maryland, College Park. 

William Knight

(FMSC 341: Personal and Family Finance)

William (Bill) Knight holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration (1973) and an M.A. degree in International Finance (1974) from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Upon graduation, he began his teaching career at Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach, Va. In 1978 he moved to Maryland to work as an economist and financial consultant in Washington, DC. He has been a consultant and economist at The Small Business Administration, Washington Institute for Social Research, The National Rural Electrification Administration, American Enterprise Institute, as well as several private firms. In 1981, Bill earned an M.A. from The University of Maryland, College Park. From 1981 -1984 he was an economist at the World Bank. In 1984, Bill went back to teaching, taking his current position as professor of economics at Prince George's Community College. He has also been teaching for the University of Maryland since 1988, teaching courses in economics, business finance, personal finance, public policy, risk analysis and the business/government relationship. Bill lives with his wife, Rebecca, in Upper Marlboro, Md. He has three daughters and two step daughters, all of whom have professional careers of their own.

Mark Janney

(CCJS 310: Criminal Investigations)

Bio Coming Soon!

Stay tuned for more faculty bios!