Craig L. Frank

AS - 1981, Biology, Herkimer County Community College
BS - 1984, Biology, State University of New York at Albany
MS - 1987, Biology, Kansas State University,
PhD - 1992, Biology, University of California at Irvine
Post-doc - 1992-94, Carleton University, Canada

The main focus of my laboratory is the physiological ecology and comparative biochemistry of heterothermy in mammals.  The impacts of two current challenges facing mammals that employ torpor as a survival strategy are presently being studied. One problem that my laboratory is currently investigating is White-nose Syndrome (WNS), an emergent disease that is estimated to have killed over 5,000,000 bats in the eastern USA and Canada. WNS was first observed at a single cave in New York State during the winter of 2005-2006, and has since spread to > 190 bat hibernation sites located in 33 U.S. states and 7 Canadian provinces. The fungus that causes WNS is Pseudogymnoascus destructans, and it grows on the muzzles, wings, and ears of hibernating bats. Field studies indicate that cutaneous infection with P. destructans causes mortality through the disruption of normal torpor patterns during hibernation. Studies are presently being conducted by my laboratory on the role of cutaneous lipids in the resistance to infection with P. destructans, and the long-term effects of WNS on several bat populations in New York.  My laboratory is also examining the effects of recent climate warming on the hibernation and over-winter survival of eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus).

2018 - Research Faculty Mentor Award for Excellence, Fordham University FCRH
2004 - 2007: Associate Editor, Journal of Mammalogy
2007 - Certificate of Recognition, American Society o Mammalogists
2007 - Certificate of Recognition, Fordham University CSTEP

Frank, C.L.; Sitler-Elbel, K.G.; Hudson, A.J.; Ingala, M.R. (2018). The Antifungal Properties of Epidermal Fatty Acid Esters: Insights from White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) in Bats. Molecules, 23:1986. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23081986

Ingala MR, Ravenelle RE, Mono JJ, and CL Frank (2017). The Effects of Epidermal Fatty Acid Profiles, 1-oleoglycerol, and Triacylglycerols on the Susceptibility of Hibernating Bats to Pseudogymnoascus destructans. PLoS ONE, 12(10): e0187195. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0187195.

Frank CL (2017): Changes in the Pseudogymnoascus destructans transcriptome during White-nose Syndrome reveal possible mechanisms for both virulence and host resistance, Virulence, DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2017.1366409.

Frank, C.L., Ingala, M.R., Ravenelle, R.E., Dougherty-Howard, K., Wicks, S.O., Herzog, C., and R.J. Rudd. (2016). The effects of cutaneous fatty acids on the growth of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the etiological agent of White-nose Syndrome (WNS). PLoSONE, 11(4): e0153535. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0153535.

Frank, C.L., Michalski A., McDonough A.A., Rahimian M., Rudd R.J., and C. Herzog (2014). The Resistance of a North American Bat Species (Eptesicus fuscus) to White-Nose Syndrome (WNS). PLoS ONE 9(12): e113958. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0113958

Reeder, D. M., C. L. Frank, G. C. Turner, C. U. Meteyer, A. Kutra, E. R. Brtizke, M. E. Vodzak, S. R. Darling, C. W. Stihler, A. C. Hicks, R. Jacob, L. E. Grieneisen, S. A. Brownlee, L. K. Muller, and D. S. Blehert (2012). Frequent Arousal from Hibernation Linked to Severity of Infection and Mortality in Bats with White-Nose Syndrome. PLoS ONE 7(6): e38920. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0038920