Carissa Krane, PhD

Dr. Carissa Krane is an Interim Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Biology at the University of Dayton (UD). Dr. Krane earned her Honors Bachelor's of Science degree in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology from Marquette University, in Milwaukee, WI, and her Ph.D. degree in Molecular Genetics from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Prior to joining the faculty in UD's Biology Department in January 2001, Dr. Krane was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, in the Program of Excellence in Heart and Lung Biology.

Dr. Krane has secured significant grant awards from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the American Lung Association to support scientific research and undergraduate curriculum development. Dr. Krane has participated as a lead investigator in a number of industry-sponsored interdisciplinary biomedical science and engineering research contracts. In 2022, Dr. Krane was recognized and honored as a “Woman of UD.” She received the university's award for outstanding teaching in 2008, and the George B. Noland Award for Research Excellence in 2014. Dr. Krane has been formally recognized by the American Physiological Society for her service as a research mentor to undergraduate student summer research fellows. 

Outside the classroom and lab, Dr. Krane has brought significant leadership to a number of settings. She has served as the President of the University of Dayton Academic Senate, and the Associate Director of the University of Dayton Honors Program. Her husband, Dan, is a professor of Biological Sciences at Wright State University in Dayton and CEO and Chair of the Board of Forensic Bioinformatics, located in Dayton. The family, including their two daughters and rescue dogs, live in Xenia.