Biology for the AP® Course

James Morris is Professor of Biology at Brandeis University. He teaches a wide variety of courses for majors and non-majors, including introductory biology, evolution, genetics and genomics, epigenetics, comparative vertebrate anatomy, and a first-year seminar on Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. He is the recipient of numerous teaching awards from Brandeis and Harvard. His research focuses on epigenetics. He currently pursues this research with undergraduates to give them the opportunity to do genuine, laboratory-based research. Dr. Morris received a PhD in genetics from Harvard University and an MD from Harvard Medical School. He was a Junior Fellow in the Society of Fellows at Harvard University and a National Academies Education Fellow and Mentor in the Life Sciences. He is also a reader for the AP® Biology exam and an author of Biology for the AP® Course.

Domenic Castignetti is professor emeritus of biology at Loyola University Chicago. During his 37 years at Loyola, he taught many courses, including the introductory biology two-semester course, general microbiology, microbial physiology, and biochemistry. He was awarded Loyola University’s Master Teacher of the College of Arts and Sciences Award and received the first Faculty/Staff Member of the Year Award from the Student Government Association. Dr. Castignetti received an MS from Colorado State University and a PhD in microbial ecology and physiology from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. His research, conducted with undergraduate and graduate students, focused on the microbiology and biochemistry of soil microorganisms. He has been associated with the AP® Biology program since 2003 and has served as a reader, table leader, and a member of the Development Committee. He was chief reader from 2011 through 2015.

John Lepri is Professor of Biology and Faculty Fellow in the Lloyds International Honors Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He teaches courses in introductory biology, biological clocks, and animal physiology. His earlier research focused on hormones and pheromones that coordinate reproduction in mammals. Professor Lepri earned a PhD in zoology at North Carolina State University. His professional activities include teacher preparation programs for high school science teachers. He has worked with College Board and ETS for more than 25 years, including five years as chief reader for the AP® Biology exam.

Rick Relyea is the David Darrin Senior ‘40 Endowed Chair in Biological Sciences and the director of the Darrin Freshwater Institute at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He received a BS in environmental forest biology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, an MS in wildlife management from Texas Tech University, and a PhD in ecology and evolution from the University of Michigan. He has authored more than 200 scientific articles and book chapters and presented research seminars throughout the world. Rick was a professor at the University of Pittsburgh for 15 years, where he was named the Chancellor’s Distinguished Researcher and received the Tina and David Bellet Teaching Excellence Award. In 2014, he moved to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to direct The Jefferson Project, which is the most technologically advanced research endeavor to study freshwater lakes. Rick has a strong interest in high school education, including hosting high school science teachers who conduct research in his laboratory. He is co-author of Environmental Science for the AP® Course, also published by BFW publishers.