Cornelia Van der Weele

Cornelia Van der Weele is a Lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Maryland. She coordinates and supervises laboratory courses including BSCI330 Cell Biology and Physiology Lab and BSCI451 Mammalian Systems Physiology Laboratory. Her research focuses on evolutionary developmental biology, particularly hypoxia and embryonic hematopoiesis in cave- and surface-dwelling Astyanax mexicanus fish, and cellular mechanisms of spermiogenesis in Marsilea vestita water ferns.

Education:

• Ph.D., Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia (2001)
• M.Sc., Biology, Universiteit Utrecht (1995)
• B.Sc., Botany, Internationale Hogeschool Larenstein-Wageningen (1992)

Her research interests bridge plant and animal systems, with early work in root growth-environment interactions. She explores RNA binding proteins and developmental processes across species, emphasizing environmental adaptations in extreme conditions like hypoxic environments.