Phone: 724-503-1001 x6120
Office: 105 Dieter-Porter
Email: cdeberry@washjeff.edu
Links
Candy DeBerry, Ph.D.
Professor of Biology
Academic Program: Biology, Biomedical Science, Cell and Molecular Biology, Conservation Biology, Forensic Science
Degrees: Ph.D., Biological Chemistry, Program in Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; B.S. Zoology, University of Maryland College Park
Candy DeBerry is a Professor in the Department of Biology and a member of the Biochemistry Steering Committee. She teaches Cell Biology, Biochemistry, a senior Biochemistry Seminar on cancer biology, Experimental Biology, and the introductory course Foundations in Cellular and Molecular Biology. She also co-developed and co-teaches the interdisciplinary course Introduction to Forensic Science.
Dr. DeBerry’s primary areas of scientific interest are cancer cell biology, signal transduction, cytoskeleton and cell motility, and programmed cell death. She also has long-standing interests in the history and philosophy of science.
Prior to her arrival at W&J, Dr. DeBerry was a visiting assistant professor of cell biology and genetics at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia; an adjunct instructor of sciences at Frederick Community College in Frederick, Maryland; Education Director at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Maryland; and a postdoctoral research fellow at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Frederick, Maryland.
Dr. DeBerry strongly believes that undergraduate science education should involve in-depth research experiences for all students. In her role as Director of Off-campus Biology-related Research Internships, Dr. DeBerry helps students identify and apply for research internships in all areas of the sciences. She created and maintains the W&J Science Research Internships wiki as a resource for everything students need to know about research internships. She actively involves students in course-based research projects, and is a co-organizer for the College’s Student Projects Poster Session each semester and organizer for the annual Summer Projects Poster Session each year at Homecoming.
Dr. DeBerry also teaches a JayTerm class, Preparing for a Research Internship in the Sciences, in which students learn how to write CVs, resumes, and cover letters, apply to internship programs, and about the culture of science including education and training to become a research scientist, the process of scientific publication, sources of funding for scientific research, and research ethics.
She is the administrator for two programs which provide funding to W&J students to support summer off-campus research internships: the Merck Internships for Excellence in the Sciences program, and the Linton Endowment for Internships at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole.
Outside of the classroom and the laboratory, Dr. DeBerry is passionate about ecological gardening. On her small suburban property, Chickadee Cottage Microfarm, she grows a variety of blue-ribbon-winning vegetables, including her beloved heirloom tomatoes and garlic, and keeps a small flock of chickens. Her property is certified as Backyard Wildlife Habitat #48,330 by the National Wildlife Federation, a Bird Habitat by the Audubon Society of Pennsylvania, and a Native Plant Butterfly Garden by Wild Ones. Dr. DeBerry regularly speaks to community organizations about native plants, environmentally-friendly gardening, creating habitats for wildlife, and growing vegetables. She shares her life with her plants, chickens, three cats, lots of books, and spouse, Carla Myers, who is Serials and Communications Assistant for W&J’s Clark Family Library.