Dr. Marcia Harrison
 Department of Biological Sciences
 Marshall University

Dr. Harrison is a professor in the Department of Biological sciences with research interests in plant and cell biology.  She is also the Principal Investigator of NSF-funded MU-ADVANCE Program, an innovative networking effort between female STEM faculty working with administrative partners to foster institutional change.  The Program has been instrumental in developing university-level best practices for recruitment, new faculty orientation, and faculty retention. She is also the Principal Investigator of the  Program, a National Science Foundation grant titled, Undergraduate Mathematical Biology Research at Marshall University which mentors undergraduate students in year-long mathematical biology research projects.

Research: Dr. Harrison studies the environmental regulation of plant growth and gene expression in the genetic model organism for plants, Arabidopsis thaliana.  She is also involved in the development of a mathematical approach to the analysis of tissue growth, based on digital images taken during the growth process. 

Teaching: Dr. Harrison's undergraduate courses include core courses for biology majors, Principles of Biology and Principles of Cell Biology. In upper level and graduate courses (Plant Physiology and Plant Growth and Development), student teams work on independent projects that are presented in a poster session at the annual Marshall University Sigma Xi Research Day.

Outreach: Dr. Harrison is the Communications Director for the West Virginia Academy of Science.  She is a member of the West Virginia Review Team for Next Generation Science Standards.

University Service: Dr. Harrison's committee efforts are dedicated to enhancing undergraduate research and achievement at Marshall University.  Dr. Harrison chairs the Marshall University Chapter of the NASA WV Space Grant Consortium which provides over 20 student research scholarships annual. She is the current President of the Marshall University Chapter of Sigma Xi, which host the annual research day on campus.  She is Public Relations Officer for the Marshall University Chapter of the national collegiate honor society, Phi Kappa Phi.

For more information, contact Dr. Marcia Harrison