• Ph.D. - University of Nebraska
• B.S. - Gustavus Adolphus College

Semester System
• BIOL 2602: Principles of Biology 2
• BIOL 3713: Vertebrate Histology
• BIOL 4841: Parasitology
• BIOL 4850: Problems in Biology
• BIOL 6965: Principles of Electron Microscopy
• BIOL 6990: Masters Thesis Research
• BIOL 6998: Topics in Physiology

Students in my laboratory select one of 2 research projects:

1) Ultrastructural characterization and biochemical composition of hyperkeratonotic skin diseases with emphasis on Vohwinkel's Syndrome. Keratoderma Hereditaria Mutilans (KHM), or Vohwinkel's Syndrome, is an autosomal dominant disease characterized primarily by a diffuse hyperkeratosis of the palmar and plantar regions of the skin, an increased thickness of the stratum corneum coupled with the sequestering of water within the epidermis. We use electron microscopy to elucidate ultrastructural differences in KHM versus normal skin, focusing on the number, formation, and position of Keratohyalin granules. Biochemical analysis using histochemical staining, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance is employed to generate a lipid profile among the layers of the epidermis in normal and KHM skin. Further study on the causal relationship between lipids and ultrastructural abnormalities is continuing.

2) We also study host-parasite relationships among the Analgoidea (feather mites) on birds from around the world. These mites are obligatory ectoparasites, which are found on specific feather types and within the quill of all major avain taxa with the exception of penguins. Our collection is amongst the largest in the world with specific emphasis on mites from shore birds and other migrating sea birds. Numerous undergraduate and graduate students have worked on this project and have traveled and studied in foreign countries to support their individual research projects. Over 30 manuscripts have been published on these poorly known groups of parasites.

Publications

Paul C. Peterson. 1992. Feather mites (Acarina:Analgoidea) of the frigate birds (Aves: Fregatidae). Zoologica Scripta 4 (1):512-518.

Peterson, P. C., H. Adelman, L. Sorger. 1989. Identification of Wooden Instrument by Scanning Electron Microscopy from Sprinters Left in Victim. J. Forensic Sciences, 33 (3):787-796.

Peterson, P. C., and J. Gaud. 1987. Especes Africaines du Genera Thysanocercus Gaud, 1957 (Alloptidae, Thysanocercinae). Acarologia 28 (3):265-275.

Paul C. Peterson. 1981. A monograph of the feather mite family Eustathiidae (Acari). No 21. Allen Press, Kansas, Academy Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, pp.1-143.

Peterson, P. C., Moss, W. W., and F. T. Posey. 1980. A multivariate analysis of the infrared spectra of abuse drugs. J. Forensic Sci., 25 (2):304-313.

Peterson, P. C., and W. T. Atyeo. 1978. The feather mite family Alloptidae Gaud. IV-An new genus of the Alloptinae (Acarina: Analgoidea). Acarologia, 19 (2):318-330.