EDUCATION

Ph. D., Biological Sciences, 1992, the Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.  Dissertation title:  Neural control of body temperature regulation in the rat.  Major Professor:  Dr. H. Craig Heller

M.S., Zoology, 1988, the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho.  Thesis title:  Molecular basis of the difference in oxygen affinity between maternal and fetal bloods of the viviparous garter snake, Thamnophis elegans.  Major Professor:  Dr. Rolf L. Ingermann

B.S., Zoology, Dec. 1986, the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho.

POSITIONS:

Visiting Principal Fellow, University of Wollongong, Wollongong,New South Wales 2522, Australia 1August, 2005 to 1 August 2006.

Professor of Biology, Sewanee: The University of the South
July 2005 – present

Chair, Department of Biology, The University of the South, July 1999 - June 2004

Program Director, Howard Hughes Medical Institute 2000 Undergraduate Biological Sciences Education Program, The University of the South, $700,000 August 2000 – August 2005

Associate Professor of Biology, The University of the South, July 1998 - June 2005

Interim Associate Dean of the College, The University of the South January 1 - July 1, 2002

Chair, University Strategic Planning Student Outcomes subcommittee, The University of the South, July 2003 – 2004.

Member, Building Users Committee, part of Woods Laboratories Addition planning group.

Member Board of Trustees, The University of the South
May 2000 – May 2003

Visiting Research Faculty, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences and Genetics, University of Laval, Ste. Foy, Quebec, Canada.  Fall 1998.

Assistant Professor of Biology, The University of the South August 1992 - June 1998

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EXTERNAL HONORS and GRANTS:

Awarded: Appalachian College Association fellowship “Learning techniques and applying them to determining the effects of seasonal acclimatization on membrane properties of the Eastern red spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens)” in the amount of $28,240 for July, 2005 – June, 2006.

Awarded: Appalachian College Association travel grant in the amount of $500 to attend the 2004 international conference “Life in the Cold” Vancouver BC – Seward Alaska, July 25 – August 1, 2004.

Awarded: Institute for Arctic Biology travel grant in the amount of $500 to attend the 1998 Annual meeting of the the international conference “Life in the Cold” Vancouver BC – Seward Alaska, July 25 – August 1, 2004.

Awarded: Howard Hughes Medical Institute 2000 Undergraduate Biological Sciences Education Program, The University of the South, $700,000.  August 2000 - August 2005.  Organizing/coordinating author and Program Director.

Awarded:  National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates Supplement to fund summer salary for two students summer, 2000.  $5,000.

Awarded:  National Science Foundation award "POWRE:  Learning and application of new methods to the study of mitochondrial heat generating mechanisms in endothermic and ectothermic vertebrates" in the amount of $68,000 for July 15, 1998 - Dec 31, 2000.

Awarded:  Appalachian College Association fellowship "New methods for investigating heat generating mechanisms of endothermic and ectothermic vertebrates" in the amount of $10,000 for Aug - Dec 1998.

Awarded:  Appalachian College Association travel grant in the amount of $500 to attend the 1998 Annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Boston, MA, Jan. 3-7, 1998.

Awarded:  National Science Foundation Research Planning Grant (NSF RPG) in the amount of $17,980 for 8/95 - 2/97.  Rated highest priority for funding.

Awarded:  Appalachian College Association travel grant  in the amount of $500 to attend the 4th International Congress of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, sponsored by the International Union of Biological Sciences, in Birmingham, UK, August 6 - 11, 1995.

Awarded:  Travel Award ($250) to the Second International Congress of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry sponsored by the International Union of Biological Sciences in Baton Rouge, LA, August 1 - 5, 1988.

Awarded:  National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship Honorable Mention, 1987.

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INTERNAL HONORS and GRANTS:

Awarded:  a grant from the Faculty Research and Development Funds in the amount of $2,050 from Sewanee: The University of the South for 4/06 – 6/06. Fund Burrowing Frog research in Brisbane, Australia.

Awarded: a grant from the Faculty Research and Development Funds in the amount of $5,000 from Sewanee: The University of the South for 6/05 – 6/06.

Awarded: a grant from the Faculty Research Fund in the amount of $3,000 from the University of the South for 6/05 – 6/05.

Awarded: a grant from Faculty Development Fund in the amount of $1,151 to attend from the University of the South to attend the international conference “Life in the Cold” Vancouver BC – Seward Alaska, July 25 – August 1, 2004.

Awarded: a grant from the Faculty Research Fund in the amount of $3,000 from the University of the South for 6/03 – 6/04.

Awarded:  From DuPont Foundation through the University of the South "A transmission electron microscopical analysis of seasonal metabolic accommodations in the aquatic newt"  $5168 with Dr. Karen McGlothlin, June - July, 2002.

Elected to the University Board of Trustees by the College Faculty May 2000 for a three-year term to end May 2003.

Awarded:  a grant through the Fund for Faculty Development from the University of the South in the amount of $3,525 to fund sabbatical travel and stay in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, during fall, 1998

Awarded:  a grant from the Fund for Faculty Development in the amount of $450 from the University of the South to attend a national multidisciplinary conference on college learning at Elon College in Elon, NC September 25-27, 1997.

Awarded:  Faculty Research Grant of $2000 from the University of the South for 4/97-4/98.

Elected to membership in Sigma Xi, 1996.

Awarded:  Faculty Research Grant of $1000 from the University of the South for 4/95-4/96.

Awarded:  a grant from the Fund for Faculty Development in the amount of $1650 from the University of the South to attend the 4th International Congress of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, sponsored by the International Union of Biological Sciences, in Birmingham, UK, August 6 - 11, 1995.

Awarded:  Faculty Development Grant of $805 from the University of the South to attend the Fifth National Conference by the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) hosted by Bates College June 23-25, 1994.

Awarded:  Faculty Research Grant of $700 from the University of the South for 4/94-4/95.

Awarded:  Faculty Research Grant of $2,160 from the University of the South for 4/93 - 4/94.

Awarded:  Graduate Fellowship Stanford University, 1989 - 1990.

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ORGANIZATIONS:

American Physiological Society

American Association of Women in Science

Association of Southeastern Biologists

Sigma Xi

Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology

Tennessee Academy of Science

TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

University of the South, Associate Professor of Biology:

Comparative Vertebrate Physiology (Biol 320) - A comparison of vertebrate physiology covered on a system by system basis emphasizing the evolutionary changes in the various systems and the functioning of homeostatic mechanisms.  Laboratory course.  Taught every year.

Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy (Biol 203) - A comparison of anatomical structures of the vertebrates with an emphasis on the evolutionary changes in various structures, and the evolutionary and functional significance of those changes.  Laboratory course.  Taught every year.

Neurobiology (Biol 208) - A comprehensive study of the nervous system covering its overall organization and development both phylogenetically and ontogenetically, neurophysiology and neurochemistry of neurons, neurotransmitter systems and control of homeostatic systems, and mechanisms of sensory biology with an emphasis on comparative senses.  Non-laboratory course.  This is a new course offering for the University of the South.  Taught approx. every other year.

Principles of Biology (Biol 131/132) - Introductory Biology for science majors.  I currently teach the semester of cell, molecular and physiological biology.  When the course was team-taught I did the portion of the course concerning diversity and classification of animals (invertebrates and vertebrates) and animal physiology. Laboratory course. 

Course Coordinator (Biol 131-132) - This series is the year long introductory biology for science majors.  It is a team-taught course.  Coordinator duties include scheduling lecturers and topics, ordering texts, coordinating the production of the laboratory manual, overseeing the laboratory assistants, generating and turning in grades and generally making sure that things run smoothly in the course.

Field Zoology/Natural History (Biol 112) - A course designed to introduce non Biology majors to basic concepts of field zoology, and the natural history and behavior of a wide range of animals, including some of those native to the deciduous forests of Tennessee.  Non-laboratory course.

Biology and Human Affairs (Biol 100) - Introductory Biology for non-majors.  Laboratory course.

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HONORS THESES ADVISED:

Leslie Sisco 1994  "The induction of Parkinsonism in mice by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine."

Jenny Thacker 1996  "An in vitro characterization of murine liver mitochondrial substrate preference as indicated by ATP/O2 ratio during state 3 respiration."

Gretel Lesslie 1996  "Effect of in vivo temperature acclimation on oxygen consumption of lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) skeletal muscle mitochondria in vitro."

REVIEWER FOR:

National Science Foundation, Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology Program.

The journal Mitochondrion

McGraw-Hill:  Reviewed chapters of Vertebrate Biology by Donald Linzey.

Sinauer Associates:  Reviewed chapters for Discover Biology

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PAPERS PUBLISHED and In Preparation:

Berner, N.J. and E.P. Bessay* (2006) Correlation of seasonal acclimatization in metabolic enzyme activity with preferred body temperature in the Easter red spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A. 144/4: 429 – 436.

Hart, F.X., E.E. Davila-Moriel*, N.J. Berner and R.L. McMillen* (2005) Using dielectric spectroscopy to detect thermal hysteresis in frog muscle. Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids. 351 (issues 33-36): 2929-2934.

Berner, N.J. (1999)  Oxygen consumption by mitochondria from an endotherm and an ectotherm.  Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology B. 124:  25-31.

Berner, N.J., D.A. Grahn and H.C. Heller.  (1999) 8-OH-DPAT-Sensitive neurons in the nucleus raphe magnus modulate thermoregulatory output in rats.  Brain Research.  831:155-164.

Hart, F.X., N.J. Berner and R.L. McMillen* (1999) Modeling the anisotropic electrical properties of skeletal muscle.  Physics in Medicine and Biology. 44:  413-421.

Berner, N.J., and H.C. Heller (1998)  Does the preoptic anterior hypothalamus receive thermoafferent information?  Am.J. Physiol.  274:  R9-R18.

Hart, F.X., R.B. Toll, N.J. Berner, and N.H. Bennett*  (1996) The Low-Frequency Dielectric Properties of Octopus Arm Muscle Measured in vivo.  Physics in Medicine and Biology:  41:  2043-2052.

Ingermann, R.L., N.J. Berner, and F.R. Ragsdale (1991) Changes in red cell ATP concentration and oxygen-affinity following birth in the neonatal garter snake Thamnophis elegans.  J. exp. Biol.  157:579-584.

Ingermann, R.L., N.J. Berner, and F.R. Ragsdale (1991) Effect of pregnancy and temperature on red cell oxygen-affinity in the viviparous snake Thamnophis elegans.  J. exp. Biol.  156:399-406.

Berner, N.J., and R.L. Ingermann (1990) Role of sialic acid in exogenous protein accumulation and water retention by the egg jelly of the salamander Ambystoma macrodactylum.  J. Exp. Zool. 256:38-43.

Berner, N.J., and R.L. Ingermann (1988) Molecular basis of the difference in oxygen affinity between maternal and foetal red blood cells in the viviparous garter snake Thamnophis elegans.  J. exp. Biol.  140:437-453.

Berner, N.J., and R.L. Ingermann (1988) Interaction of exogenous proteins with the jelly coat of eggs from the salamander, Ambystoma macrodactylum.  Comp. Biochem. Physiol.  90A:265-268.

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ABSTRACTS PUBLISHED:

Berner, N.J. and A.J. Hulbert (2005) Seasonal fatty acid composition of skeletal muscle from the Eastern red spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens) of North America. ANZSCPB Proceedings.

Berner, N.J., R.E. Puckett* and B.J. Waffa* (2005) Identifying possible structural differences in some metabolic enzymes of summer- and winter-acclimatized Eastern red spotted newts (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens). Southeastern Biology. 52(2): 189.

Puckett, R.E. * and N.J. Berner (2005) The effect of seasonal acclimatization on the standard metabolic rate of Eastern red spotted newts (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens). Southeastern Biology. 52(2): 188.

Hart, F.X., E.E. Davila-Moriel*, N.J. Berner and R.L. McMillen* (2004) Using dielectric spectroscopy to detect thermal hysteresis in frog muscle. 3rd International Conference on Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy and its Applications; August 23, 2004; Delft, The Netherlands.

Berner, N.J. (2004) Seasonal acclimatization of behavioral thermoregulation and enzyme activity in the Eastern red spotted newt. Life in the Cold XII Program and Abstracts. Conference July 25 – 31, Vancouver, BC - Seward, Alaska.

Davila-Moriel, E.E., * N.J. Berner, and F.X. Hart (2002) Thermal hysteresis in frog skeletal muscle. The Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine; Feb. 1, 2002, Long Beach, CA.

Bessay, E.P.* and N.J. Berner (2000) . Effect of acclimatization to summer and winter conditions on metabolic enzyme activities in the Eastern red spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens).  J. Tenn. Acad. Sci. 75(3-4):89.(Awarded Best Student Paper Presentation)

Hart, F. X., N. J. Berner and R. L. McMillen* (1998) Activation enthalpies for ionic conduction in frog gastrocnemius muscle, measured in vivo.  The Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine; Nov. 13, 1998, Long Beach, CA.

Berner, N.J. (1998) Effect of substrate on temperature compensation in mouse and lizard liver mitochondria.  Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology.  Amer. Zool.,  37(5):  149A.

R. L. McMillen*, N. J. Berner and F. X. Hart (1997) A Comparison of the Longitudinal and Transverse Impedance Spectra of Frog Muscle, Measured In vivo.  J. Tenn. Acad. Sci. 73(1-2): 32. (Awarded Best Student Paper Presenation in Physics)

Vandermaas-Peeler, M.O., C. King and N.J. Berner (1997) Research as Apprenticeship:  Mentoring Undergraduate Research.  Panel Discussion at Elon College National Multidisciplinary Conference on College Learning.  Elon College, NC.

Berner, N.J. (1996) Substrate preference and temperature compensation in mouse and lizard liver mitochondria.  Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology.  Amer. Zool., 36 (5):  34A.

Berner, N.J., G.J. Palmer*, and J.L. Thacker* (1995) An in vitro comparison of temperature compensation and substrate utilization in mouse and lizard liver mitochondria.  International Union of Biological Sciences, 4th International Congress Meeting Proceedings.  Physiol. Zool., 68 (4):123.

Hart, F.X., N.H. Bennett* and N.J. Berner (1994) The dielectric properties of Octopus arm measured in vivo.  Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine.

Berner, N.J. and H.C. Heller (1992) Does the preoptic anterior hypothalamus receive thermoafferent information?  FASEB Journal 

Grahn, D.A., N.J. Berner and H.C. Heller (1990) Reversible focal anesthesia of brainstem regions induce site specific arousal state transitions.  Proceedings of the Association of Professional Sleep Societies  1990:  31.

Grahn, D.A., N.J. Berner and H.C. Heller (1990) Reversible focal lesions of ventromedial medulla cancel thermoregulatory responses.  FASEB Journal  4(3):  A720.

Berner, N.J., F.R. Ragsdale and R.L. Ingermann (1990) Changes in ATP content and oxygen affinity of red cells following birth in the neonatal garter snake (Thamnophis elegans).  FASEB Journal  4(3):  A731.

Berner, N.J. and R.L. Ingermann (1988) Influence of pregnancy on red cell organic phosphate concentrations in the garter snake.  International Union of Biological Sciences, 2nd International Congress Meeting Proceedings.

Berner, N.J. and R.L. Ingermann (1987) Molecular basis of the difference in oxygen affinity between maternal and fetal bloods in the viviparous garter snake.  Physiologist 30:  175.

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SESSIONS CHAIRED:

Chaired a session at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Albuquerque, NM, Dec. 26-30, 1996.  The session was Session 4:  Thermoregulation on Saturday, Dec. 28 from 1:00-5:00 PM for the Division of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry.

PAPERS PRESENTED:

Invited Lecture: “Seasonal acclimatization in the Eastern red spotted newt” School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia, 5 May 2006.

Invited Lecture: “Seasonal acclimatization in the Eastern red spotted newt” Physiological Ecology group, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD Australia, 21 April 2006.

22nd Annual Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry. Dunedin, New Zealand. December 10, 2005. “Seasonal fatty acid composition of skeletal muscle from the Eastern red spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens) of North America.”

66th Annual Meeting of the Association of Southeastern Biologists; April 13 – 16, 2005. Florence, AL. Poster:  “Identifying possible structural differences in some metabolic enzymes of summer- and winter-acclimatized Eastern red spotted newts (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens)”.

Life in the Cold, Vancouver, Canada to Seward, Alaska, July 25 – 31, 2004. Presentation: Seasonal acclimatization of behavioral thermoregulation and enzyme activity in the Eastern red spotted newt

Invited lecture. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, New Orleans Nov 4 – 10, 2000. Presentation: November 7, “The role of the nucleus raphe magnus in thermoregulatory control”.

Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, Boston, MA, Jan. 1998. “Effect of substrate on temperature compensation in mouse and lizard liver mitochondria”

Panel Discussion at Elon College National Multidisciplinary Conference on College Learning. Elon College, NC, Sept. 1997.

Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, Albuquerque, NM, Dec. 1996. “Substrate preference and temperature compensation in mouse and lizard liver mitochondria”

International Union of Biological Sciences, Birmingham U.K., August, 1995. “An in vitro comparison of temperature compensation and substrate utilization in mouse and lizard liver mitochondria”

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Anaheim, CA, April, 1992. “Does the preoptic anterior hypothalamus receive thermoafferent information?”

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Washington D.C., April, 1990. “Reversible focal anesthesia of brainstem regions induce site specific arousal state transitions”

International Union of Biological Sciences, Baton Rouge, LA, August, 1988. “Influence of pregnancy on red cell organic phosphate concentrations in the garter snake”

American Physiological Society, San Diego, CA, October, 1987. “Molecular basis of the difference in oxygen affinity between maternal and fetal bloods in the viviparous garter snake”