Queens College

Dr. John Dennehy

Assistant Professor

Ph.D.(Clark University)

Office: NSB E -104 Tel: (718) 997-3411

Laboratory: NSB E-119

E-mail: john.dennehy@qc.cuny.edu

Research interests:

Using an inter-disciplinary approach, I employ techniques from ecology, microbiology, population biology, molecular biology and mathematical modeling to study the evolutionary ecology of microorganisms (e.g., nematodes, bacteria and viruses). Primarily I look at how host/prey population dynamics affect the population dynamics and evolution of their parasites/predators. This approach is particularly effective for examining the emergence of infectious diseases, their adaptation to new hosts and the means to combat their spread and persistence. I also study the evolution of bacteriophage life history traits, with a strong emphasis on understanding the evolutionary consequences of stochasticity in gene expression and its effect on the dynamics of holin protein sequence evolution among phage lambda strains. New approaches, including the integration of cutting-edge techniques in flow cytometry, robotics, and microfluidics, will be used to expand the range of evolutionary ecological questions directly amenable to experimental analysis.

Students in my laboratory will be encouraged to select questions of significant general interest, choose an appropriate model system to address the question and attack questions aggressively using innovative techniques. By examining biological organization from the level of metapopulations and communities down to genome analysis and single molecule dynamics students will gain an exceptionally broad biological perspective and learn widely applicable techniques, including microbiological, sequencing, cloning, modeling, and population genetic, enhancing subsequent career progress.

Selected Publications:

Dennehy, J.J. & Abedon, S.T. Turner, P.E. 2007. Habitat structure, host density, and the strength of selection on phage genotypes. Evolution, Published article online: 23-Aug-2007. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00205.x

Dennehy, J.J., Friedenberg N., Yang, Y. & Turner, P.E. 2007. Virus population extinction via ecological traps. Ecology Letters, 10: 230–240. (Subject of NY Science Times article by Carl Zimmer).

Monello, R.J., Dennehy, J.J., Murray, D. & Wirsing A.J. 2006. Species differences among native ranids in coping with an exotic invader, the bullfrog Rana catesbeiana. Journal of Herpetology, 40: 403-407

Dennehy, J.J., Yang, Y., Friedenberg N. & Turner, P.E. 2006. Bacteriophage migration via nematode vectors: host-parasite-consumer interactions in laboratory microcosms. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 72: 1974-1979. (Recommended Paper: Faculty of 1000).

Dennehy, J.J., Friedenberg, N. Holt, R.D. & Turner, P.E. 2006. Viral ecology and the maintenance of novel host use. The American Naturalist, 167: 429-439. (Recommended Paper: Faculty of 1000).

Evans, M.E.K. and Dennehy, J.J. 2005. Germ Banking: Bet hedging and variable release from egg and seed dormancy. Quarterly Review of Biology, 80: 431-451.

Dennehy, J.J. & Turner, P.E. 2004. Reduced fecundity is the cost of cheating in RNA virus Φ6. Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, 271: 2275-2282.

Dennehy, J.J. & Livdahl, T. 2004. Polymorphic foraging behavior among Caenorhabditis elegans. Frequency- and density-dependent selection. Journal of Nematology, 36: 276-280.

Dennehy, J.J. Robakiewicz, P. and Livdahl, T. 2001. Larval rearing conditions affect kin-mediated cannibalism in a treehole mosquito. Oikos, 95: 335-339.

Dennehy, J.J. 2001. Influence of social dominance rank on diet quality of pronghorn females. Behavioral Ecology, 12: 177-181.

List of Publications from PubMed


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