Phone: 724-503-1001 x6121
Office: Dieter Porter 205
Email: kweixel@washjeff.edu
Kelly Weixel, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biology; Director, Neuroscience Program
Academic Program: Biomedical Science, Cell and Molecular Biology, Conservation Biology, Biology
Degrees: Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; B.S. Saint Francis University
Kelly M. Weixel is an associate professor in the Department of Biology. Her primary teaching responsibilities are Biology 131/131L: Foundations in Organismal Biology; Biology 235/235L Animal Physiology, Neuroscience 300/300L Experimental Neuroscience, Biology 412, Experimental Biology: Physiological Regulation of Na+ in Mammalian Kidney, and JayTerm courses in science communication.
Dr. Weixel studied biology and literature at Saint Francis College, completing her honors thesis at University College Cork, Ireland. She earned her Ph.D. in Cell Biology and Physiology from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine where she studied the structure and function of the protein defective in patients with Cystic Fibrosis. Prior to joining the faculty at W&J, Dr. Weixel was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a member of the biology faculty at Chatham University. She has published a number of scientific papers in journals such as the Journal of Biological Chemistry and the Journal of Experimental Medicine and has presented her work at national and international meetings. Her research interests are in the physiological regulation of sodium transport, which serves to regulate water volume and blood pressure in mammals.
Dr. Weixel is active in her community, serving as a volunteer in science education in her children’s school and outreach programs for high school students. She especially enjoys the science and cultural traditions of cooking. She also is an active swimmer, enjoys hiking and gets to do both at Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory in Maine, where she teaches a research course each summer to medical students.