Dr. Cynthia Anderson

Dr. Cynthia Anderson serves as the Associate Director for both BHSU’s Genetics & Genomics core facility (WestCore), and the Center for the Conservation of Biological Resources (CCBR). She is also the Program Coordinator for the South Dakota Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (SD BRIN). Cynthia earned her PhD in Plant Pathology, with an emphasis on molecular genetics of host-pathogen interactions, from Montana State University, Bozeman. She has been teaching at Black Hills State University since 2000. Most recently, she has been collaborating with medicinal chemist Dr. John Dixon who synthesizes novel compounds to test for antimicrobial activity. Dr. Anderson’s lab tests his compounds against fungi that cause diseases such as ringworm and athlete’s foot, as well as pathogenic yeasts. With a couple of successful compounds identified, her lab has been using molecular genetic techniques to understand how the fungi alter their gene expression patterns. Outside of work, Cynthia spends her time hiking in the Black Hills, and she enjoys learning to fly-fish with her husband.