Charles Hauser

Charles Hauser is an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at St. Edward's University, where he established the Bioinformatics Program in 2004. His research focuses on soil metagenomics and nanoparticle toxicity, with expertise in plant genetics and chloroplast biology. Dr. Hauser earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics from the University of Houston, followed by postdoctoral work at Duke University on chloroplast gene regulation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Education highlights include a B.S. in Botany/Chemistry from the University of Texas, Austin, and postdoctoral training at Duke University. His work on the Chlamydomonas genome project contributed foundational gene models. Research interests include bioinformatics education, genomics CUREs (Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences), and environmental impacts of nanoparticles.

His awards include the 2016 School of Natural Sciences Distinguished Research Award and NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship (1990). He leads grants such as the NSF-funded 'Integrating Bioinformatics into the Life Sciences' and USDA's Ag-STEM Pipeline initiative. Dr. Hauser is involved in national education initiatives like the Genomics Education Partnership (GEP) and Network for Integrating Bioinformatics into Life Sciences Education (NIBLSE).

Professional involvement includes advisory roles for GEP and NIBLSE, and membership in the Genetics Society of America and Texas Academy of Science. His lab focuses on undergraduate research training, leveraging genomic data analysis and bioinformatics tools to engage students in cutting-edge biological questions.