Dr. Eric Haenni

My recent investment in applying my marine and freshwater coastal ecosystem background in the private sector has stirred an interest in estuarine research, as it relates to nursery areas for sharks and other elasmobranchs. While my interest stems from my long term focus on chondrichthyan fishes, my upbringing in the Midwest has also instilled an interest and love of the lakes and rivers that wind through our communities. By focusing on the long term acquisition of steady streams of data, I believe that we can develop stronger hypothetical frameworks to explore and explain the decline, or improvement, in the health of our water bodies and the intimately dependent inhabitants that are directly affected by the subtle changes in these variables. By acquiring this information and examining the developmental or anatomical embryological changes that accompany these changes in the vertebrate inhabitants of these systems, we may be able to develop theoretical connections that will drive further research and support grant applications for additional funds to expand initial surveys. One such research subject is the Eastern Hellbender, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis. My collaborative work with Ohio DNR and the Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District has defined the environmental parameters of the Cross Creek watershed and pioneered alternative habitat units to facilitate restoration of the historic population in Jefferson and Harrison Counties.

I also work with chemistry faculty to maintain multiple air quality sampling sites along the Ohio River. This Ohio EPA grant allows Franciscan faculty and students to participate in real-time data acquisition on air quality data that will allow us to develop a better understanding of the current environmental conditions in the Ohio Valley. Students involved in this project gain industry-level experience that is translatable to jobs in the environmental consulting field, along with petroleum exploration and acquisition.

My research goals are not mutually exclusive of my role as a mentor to the undergraduates that share a common interest or are open to acquiring the skills and potential academic credentials that will strengthen their ability to compete for top level assistantships and professional schools. In fact, any research program that I am involved with must have an undergraduate component in order to acquire sufficient funding and further enhance the offerings of the department. By focusing on the students within our program we are cultivating relationships that will lead to professional collaborations in the future. Furthermore, by keeping current with the literature and adding to the body of knowledge, I am able to directly impact the courses that I am teaching with the latest information. By doing so, I am able to add a relevancy to both lecture and laboratory that will further enhance the student’s ability to understand the material.

• B.A. Hendrix College, Biology, June, 1991
• Cornell University, Shoals Marine Laboratory, Summer, 1990 and 1991
• Ph.D. Clemson University, Zoology, August, 2001
  • (Dissertation: On the Growth, Functional Morphology, and Embryological Development of the Cephalofoil in the Bonnethead Shark, Sphyrna tiburo.)

My primary research interests continue to focus on developmental morphology in Vertebrates, with specific emphasis on embryological development of the skull from early organogenesis through parturition. I would like to continue investigating the role of neural crest cells in these more “primitive” vertebrates, utilizing histology (light and electron microscopy) and expand this into the use of novel molecular tracers in contrast microscopy and MRI as tools to further elucidate the physical and biochemical mechanisms that have discrete causative roles within the embryological process.

My recent investment in applying my marine and freshwater coastal ecosystem background in the private sector has stirred an interest in estuarine research, as it relates to nursery areas for sharks and other elasmobranchs. While my interest stems from my long term focus on chondrichthyan fishes, my upbringing in the Midwest has also instilled an interest and love of the lakes and rivers that wind through our communities. By focusing on the long term acquisition of steady streams of data, I believe that we can develop stronger hypothetical frameworks to explore and explain the decline, or improvement, in the health of our water bodies and the intimately dependent inhabitants that are directly affected by the subtle changes in these variables. By acquiring this information and examining the developmental or anatomical embryological changes that accompany these changes in the vertebrate inhabitants of these systems, we may be able to develop theoretical connections that will drive further research and support grant applications for additional funds to expand initial surveys. One such research subject is the Eastern Hellbender, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis. My collaborative work with Ohio DNR and the Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District has defined the environmental parameters of the Cross Creek watershed and pioneered alternative habitat units to facilitate restoration of the historic population in Jefferson and Harrison Counties.

I also work with chemistry faculty to maintain multiple air quality sampling sites along the Ohio River. This Ohio EPA grant allows Franciscan faculty and students to participate in real-time data acquisition on air quality data that will allow us to develop a better understanding of the current environmental conditions in the Ohio Valley. Students involved in this project gain industry-level experience that is translatable to jobs in the environmental consulting field, along with petroleum exploration and acquisition.

My research goals are not mutually exclusive of my role as a mentor to the undergraduates that share a common interest or are open to acquiring the skills and potential academic credentials that will strengthen their ability to compete for top level assistantships and professional schools. In fact, any research program that I am involved with must have an undergraduate component in order to acquire sufficient funding and further enhance the offerings of the department. By focusing on the students within our program we are cultivating relationships that will lead to professional collaborations in the future. Furthermore, by keeping current with the literature and adding to the body of knowledge, I am able to directly impact the courses that I am teaching with the latest information. By doing so, I am able to add a relevancy to both lecture and laboratory that will further enhance the student’s ability to understand the material.