Lisa A. E. Kaplan

In her doctoral work, Lisa A. E. Kaplan, Ph.D. established the existence of Cytochrome P450pj in fish and documented the impact of nitrosodialkylamines on liver necrosis. As a post-doctoral fellow at NYU Medical Center, she studied the impact of heavy metal toxicity and oncogene activation in fishes.

Dr. Kaplan’s current research focuses on the relationship between plasticizer exposure and altered crayfish aggression, fish social behaviors, and amphipod locomotion. Since these behaviors are influenced by serotonin (aggression, locomotion, cognition), and dopamine (movement, emotion, motivation), she evaluates these neurotransmitters to determine how exposure to plasticizers potentially disrupts behavior.

Students actively involved in Dr. Kaplan’s research learn to appreciate the whole organism down to the molecular level, explore different approaches to a problem, view information from different disciplinary angles, and synthesize more comprehensive explanations.

Dr. Kaplan’s main goal as a teacher is to facilitate learning with understanding, good judgment, and experience in a way that all members of the class find accessible, exciting, and even compelling. Under every circumstance, she strives to gradually, and, justifiably, build student confidence, independence, and self-discipline as they move from development of declarative/procedural memory to a deeper, more powerful understanding that results in synthesize and application of knowledge.