Kathleen Craft, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biology
College of Arts and Sciences
Chair, Natural Sciences Department
College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Craft teaches various biology courses at Concordia University Chicago. Her research focuses on the evolutionary and ecological processes that shape plant populations and drive speciation.
Dr. Craft’s research projects include examining gene flow and speciation in the genus Quercus; development of a theoretical model for high genetic diversity of offspring through polyandry in the genus Quercus; and forensic analysis of plant matter for Quercus species,various species in the family Orchidaceae, and Cannabis sativa. Currently, Dr. Craft is researching gene flow dynamics and population genetic structure in the genus Quercus and the population genetic structure of tropical plant species in Papua New Guinea.
Previously, she served as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Minnesota and a visiting lecturer at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she was awarded outstanding teacher several times. Dr. Craft has been a member of Concordia’s faculty since 2009.
Degrees
- PhD, biology with population genetics subspecialty; University of Illinois at Chicago; Chicago
- MS, biology, University of Louisville; Louisville, Ky.
- BS, biology, University of Kentucky; Lexington, Ky.
Academic and Professional Highlights
Publications:
- “QTL Mapping of THC locus in Cannabis sativa” (with Wenger, J.P., Weiblen, G.W.), in prep.
- “Population Genetic Structure and Phylogeographic Patterns of Lowland Tropical Plant Species in Papua New Guinea” (with Weiblen, G.W.), in prep.
- “Pollen Flow Dynamics as Evidenced by Parentage Analysis in Isolated and Forested Stands of Quercus macrocarpa Mich. (Fagaceae) in Northeastern Illinois (with Ashley, M.V.), in prep.
- “Contrasting Patterns of Plant-Herbivore Interaction Networks from a Tropical Forest: Implications for Species Coexistence” (with Novotny, V., Miller, S., Baje, L., Basset, Y., Cizek, L., Dem, F., Drew, R., Hulcr, J., Leps, J., Lewis, O., Pokon, R., Stewart, A., and Weiblen, G.) Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences, 2009.
- “Population Genetic Differentiation of New Guinea Lowland Rainforest Moths” (with Pauls, S.U., Darrow, K., Miller, S.E., Herbert, P.D.N., Novotny, V., Weiblen, W.D.), Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences, 2008.
- “A Model for Polyandry in Oaks: A Fixed Lottery (with Golubski, A.J., Ashley, M.V., Brown, J.), Ecological and Evolutionary Research, 2008.
- “Landscape Genetic Structure of Pre-settlement Bur Oak Savannas” (with Ashley, M.V.), Forest Ecology and Management, 2007.
- “Application of Plant DNA Markers in Forensic Botany: Genetic Comparison of Quercus Evidence Leaves to Crime Scene Trees Using Microsatellites” (with Owens, J.D., Ashley, M.V.), Forensic Science International, 2007.
- “Population Differentiation Among Three Species of White Oak in Northeastern Illinois” (with Ashley, M.V.), Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2006.
- “High Variability and Disomic Segregation of Microsatellites in the Octaploid Fragaria Virginiana Mill” (with Ashley, M.V., Wilk, J.A., Styan, S.M.N., Jones, K.L., Feldheim, K.A., Lewers, K.S., Ashman, T.L.), Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 2003.
- “Limited Interspecific Hybridization Between Quercus lobata and Quercus douglasii (Fagaceae) in a Mixed Stand in Central Coastal California” (with Ashley, M.V., Koening, W.D.), American Journal of Botany, 2002.
Presentations:
- “Low Population Genetic Structure in Lowland Moths of Papua New Guinea,” Evolution Conference; Minneapolis, Minn., 2008.
- “Segregation Distortion in Inbred Line of Cannabis sativa,” Botany 2008 Conference; Vancouver, Canada, July 2008.
- “Pollen-mediated Gene Flow in Quercus macrocarpa as Evidenced by Paternity Analysis in Isolated and Continuous Stands,” Botany 2007 Conference; Chicago, 2007.
- “Population Genetic Structure, Gene Flow, and Hybridization in Quercus alba, Quercus bicolor, and Quercus macrocarpa,” Evolution 2004 Conference; Fort Collins, Colo., 2004.
- “Population Genetic Structure, Gene Flow, and Hybridization in Quercus alba, Quercus bicolor, and Quercus macrocarpa,” Sigma Xi Graduate Student Research Forum; University of Illinois at Chicago, 2003.
- “Limited Interspecific Hybridization Between Quercus lobata and Quercus douglasii (Fagaceae) in a Mixed Stand in Central Coastal California,” Evolution 2003 Conference; University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, 2003.
- “Population Genetic Structure of Bur Oaks (Quercus macrocarpa) in Northeastern Illinois,” Chicago Botanic Garden Symposium; Glencoe, Ill., 2001.
Awards:
- Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award for Excellence in Teaching, Vertebrate Embryology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2004.
- Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award for Excellence in Teaching, Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2004.
- Award for Research Achievement for outstanding research publications and presentations, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2003.
- Awarded 1st Place for Oral Presentation, Sigma Xi Graduate Student Research Forum, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2003.
- Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award for Excellence in Teaching, Mammalian Histology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2000.
- Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award for Excellence in Teaching, Human Development and Reproduction, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2000.
- Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award for Excellence in Teaching, Vertebrate Embryology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1999.
- Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award for Excellence in Teaching, Human Development and Reproduction, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1999.
- Provost Award for Excellence in Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, $2,000.