Fisher Endowed Chairs

Erin Harberts, Ph.D., 2024–2027

Erin Harberts joined the Department of Biological Sciences in 2020 as a Lecturer and was appointed Assistant Professor in 2022. She earned her B.S. degree in Molecular Biology from Colgate University, and her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Maryland Baltimore. She also completed a postbaccalaureate fellowship at the National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke at the NIH. Prior to joining Towson University Dr. Harberts was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Microbial Pathogenesis at the University of Maryland Baltimore.  

Dr. Harberts’ research is focused on how the innate immune system recognizes pathogens. Her research investigates how the structure of innate immune ligands defines their activity. The inappropriate activation of the immune system underlies allergic reaction symptoms including: dermatitis, asthma. Anaphylaxis, colitis, and inflammation among other conditions. There is an urgent need to develop more effective therapies for chronic and severe acute allergic reactions. Dr. Harberts is currently exploring ways to improve allergy immunotherapy whereby the allergen is coupled with compounds, called adjuvants, often used to enhance the effectiveness of vaccines. Specifically, she will explore the use of novel bacterial enzyme combinatorial chemistry to produce an array of bacterial lipids for use as adjuvants. This work will provide students with the opportunity to investigate the use of these allergy therapies in mouse models of allergy immunotherapy.

Erin Harberts teaches Immunology, Molecular Biology, Student Research Seminar and a CURE Lab Course. Dr. Harberts has mentored the research of several students, some of whom have gone on to attend top tier PhD programs while others have secured jobs in federal research laboratories at the NIH, FDA, USAMRID, and UMSOM. She plans to use the Fisher Endowment to provide funding for additional students to conduct research in her laboratory.

Wassila Lalouani, Ph.D., 2024–2027

Assistant Professor Wassila Lalouani joined the Department of Computer and Information Sciences in 2022. She earned her B.S. and M.Sc. degrees in Computer Science from the University of Science and Technology Houari Boumediene, and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Dr. Lalouani’s research spans the areas of machine learning, network architecture, protocols, and security, with applications in Internet of Things and Cyber-Physical Systems. She is particularly interested in developing smarter defenses to combat the threat of malicious exploitation of AI-driven technologies. The theoretical aspect of her work is the development of algorithms and techniques for security to support data privacy, integrity and confidentiality. On the application side, her research provides innovative solutions in areas such as transportation, healthcare and smart grid. The overarching goal of her research is to build secure, yet efficient, solutions for real-life problems.

Wassila Lalouani teaches Introduction to Computer Science, Data Communication and Networking, and Reverse Engineering and Malware Analysis. Dr. Lalouani has also mentored several undergraduate, M.S. and Ph.D. students since joining TU. She plans to use the Fisher Endowment to support student research to produce critical preliminary data in cyber-physical systems security to use to develop competitive proposals for NSF IUSE and REU grants.

Daniel Caetano, Ph.D., 2023–2026

Assistant Professor Daniel Caetano joined the Department of Biological Sciences in 2022. He earned his B.S. degree in Biological Sciences from the University of São Paulo, his M.S. in Ecology from the University of São Paulo and his Ph.D. in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology from the University of Idaho.  Prior to joining Towson University Dr. Caetano was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Arkansas and then the University of São Paulo.

Daniel Caetano’s research lies at the interface of evolutionary biology, statistics and computational biology and he seeks to answer important questions in macroevolution while also developing new statistical approaches and software to help the entire field move forward. Specifically, Daniel Caetano is developing and implementing novel Phylogenetic Comparative Methods (PCMs) of trait evolution using multivariate datasets. These tools will be developed and applied to questions on the macroevolution of pollination syndromes in flowering plants and shape change in the vertebra bones of frogs and toads. Broadly, his work has implications and applications for understanding the origins and maintenance of biodiversity and its persistence in a future challenged with human-induced habitat loss and climate change.  

Daniel Caetano teaches Biodiversity, Introduction to Ecology and Evolution, and Introduction to Bioinformatics and has mentored several undergraduate students since joining TU. The Fisher endowment will be used to purchase high performance computers for students to use, to generate data necessary for grant proposal submissions to the National Science Foundation and will support additional undergraduate student researchers.

Neda Saeedloei, Ph.D., 2023–2026

Assistant Professor Neda Saeedloei joined the faculty of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences in 2019.  Neda Saeedloei has a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from Sharif University of Technology and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Texas. Prior to joining Towson University, she previously held faculty positions at the University of Minnesota and Southern Illinois University and has postdoctoral experiences from the Naval Research Laboratory, INRIA in France as well as the University of Texas.

Neda Saeedloei’s research focuses on safety critical systems – those systems for which failure could cause serious harm, loss of life, or significant economic impacts. Examples include cruise control in automobiles, air traffic control systems, medical devices such as infusion pumps, etc. These safety critical systems are a complex of integrated sub-systems that interact with each other and the environment. As the complexity of these systems increases, it becomes more challenging to ensure their correctness. Neda Saeedloei and her students are working on a toolset for design, specification, and verification of safety critical systems by pursuing three related tasks culminating in model verification and optimization.

Neda Saeedloei teaches courses in computer science and cyber security. She has worked extensively with students in her research program.  She will use the endowed chair funds to support additional undergraduate researchers, to revisit course materials, engage in professional and university service, and will lead to future external research proposals.

Hervé Nganguia, Ph.D., 2022–2025

Assistant Professor Hervé Nganguia joined the faculty of the Department of Mathematics in August, 2021.  Hervé Nganguia holds a B.S. in Engineering Sciences from CUNY College of Staten Island, an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University, an M.S. in Applied Mathematics from San Diego State University, and a Ph.D. in Mathematical Sciences from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Prior to joining Towson University, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Santa Clara University and an assistant professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Hervé Nganguia’s research utilizes neural networks – computational algorithms that seek to simulate the activity of a brain. These algorithms are used in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning. His current focus using this approach is on modeling the behavior of simply viscous and shear-thinning fluids, and he has recently been awarded a major National Science Foundation grant entitled, “Mathematical modeling of targeted drug delivery: Unifying Lighthill and Taylor theories.”

Hervé Nganguia teaches calculus, linear algebra, mathematical models, and experimental methods. He also serves on the organizing committee for the undergraduate research conference at Towson University. Hervé Nganguia will use the endowed chair funds and his NSF funds to establish the Mathematical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, with a goal of involving as many underrepresented undergraduate students in the project as possible.

Khanh-Hoa Tran-Ba, Ph.D., 2022–2025

Assistant Professor Khanh-Hoa Tran-Ba joined the Department of Chemistry in 2018. He earned his B.S. degree in Material Sciences from Justus-Liebig University, and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Kansas State University. Prior to joining Towson University Khanh-Hoa Tran-Ba was a post-doctoral researcher at Columbia University.

Khanh-Hoa Tran-Ba conducts laboratory experiments to investigate molecular and particle dynamics at various liquid-solid interfaces and within complex soft matter systems like hydrogels and polymers. He has built a wide-field fluorescence microscope to carry out single-molecule tracking measurements here at Towson University, and his studies may be applied, for example, to the behavior of surfactants in oil-water-solid systems or to drug delivery and release. His research on the oil-water interface has received grant support from the Petroleum Research Fund of the American Chemical Society.

Khanh-Hoa Tran-Ba teaches general chemistry and physical chemistry, and has mentored 17 undergraduate students since joining TU. The Fisher endowment will be used to generate data necessary for a major National Science Foundation grant proposal and will support additional undergraduate student researchers.

Michelle M. Casey, Ph.D., 2021–2024

Assistant Professor Michelle M. Casey joined the Department of Physics, Astronomy and Geosciences in 2019. She earned her B.S. degree in Geology with Honors from Macalester College, her M.S. degree in Geosciences from Virginia Tech, and her Ph.D. in Geology and Geophysics from Yale University. Prior to joining Towson University Michelle Casey was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Kansas, and then an Assistant Professor at Murray State University in Kentucky.

Michelle Casey studies ecological responses to environmental disturbances, utilizing biogeochemical, stable isotopic, and other ecosystem data. Specifically, she and her students are studying the predation behaviors of certain marine snails, both today and in the fossil record. The research involves field work to collect live snails and laboratory feeding behavior studies, with the aim of understanding predation, cannibalism, and omnivory (deriving food from multiple trophic levels) within the living and fossil communities.

Michelle Casey teaches physical geology, historical geology, environmental geology, and paleoecology. She has mentored three undergraduate students at Towson and will engage four to six more with the Fisher Chair award. Michelle Casey demonstrates a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and recently completed the extensive National Science Foundation-sponsored Unlearning Racism in Geoscience curriculum.

Previous Fisher Endowed Chairs are:

Weixian Liao, Department of Computer & Information Sciences, 2021–2024
Jing Tian, Department of Mathematics, 2021–2024
Kimberly Corum, Department of Mathematics, 2020–2023
Anne Estes, Department of Biological Sciences, 2020–2023
Lin Deng, Department of Computer & Information Sciences, 2019–2022
Jacqueline M. Doyle, Department of Biological Sciences, 2019–2022
Lindsey-Kay Lauderdale, Department of Mathematics, 2019–2022
Melike Kara, Department of Mathematics, 2018 – 2021
Wendy Nelson,  Department of Physics, Astronomy and Geosciences,  2018 – 2021
Christopher Cornwell, Department of Mathematics, 2017 – 2020
Mary Davadas, Department of Chemistry, 2017 – 2020
Nathan McNew, Department of Mathematics, 2016 – 2019
Nam Nguyen, Department of Computer & Information Sciences, 2016 – 2019
Keith Reber, Department of Chemistry, 2016 – 2019
John Sivey, Department of Chemistry,  2015 – 2018
Elana Ehrlich, Department of Biological Sciences,  2014 – 2017
Petra Tsuji, Department of Biological Sciences,  2013 – 2016
Joel Moore, Department of Physics, Astronomy and Geosciences,  2013 – 2016
Matthew Hemm, Department of Biological Sciences,  2011 – 2014
Meghan May, Department of Biological Sciences,  2012 – 2013
Elizabeth Duncan-Vaidya, Department of Biological Sciences,  2010 – 2011
Timothy Brunker, Department of Chemistry,  2009 – 2012
Jennifer Scott, Department of Physics, Astronomy and Geosciences,  2007 – 2010
Joy Watts, Department of Biological Sciences,  2006 – 2009