Faculty Profiles

Colleges and Departments
Portrait of Dr. Dana M Garcia

Dr. Dana M Garcia

  • Professor at Biology, College of Science & Engineering

Service Activities

Ongoing

  • Organizer, Coordinate Bobcat Day for the Biology Department. 2013 - Present.
  • Undergraduate Advisor, Degree Program Advisor for B.S. in Biology. 2011 - Present.
  • Chair, Biology Curriculum Committee. 2010 - Present.
  • Member, Graduate Committee. 2005 - Present.

2025

  • Member, Wildlife Ecologist Search Committee. September 2024 - May 2025.

2024

  • Member, Microbial Genetics Search Committee. 2023 - 2024.
  • Member, College of Science Curriculum Committee. 2011 - 2024.
  • Chair, Society of Catholic Scientists. June 2024.
  • Member, Scientific Instrument Technician Search Committee. January 2024 - May 2024.

2022

  • Board of Directors, Texas State University’s Catholic Student Center. 2010 - 2022.
  • Media Liaison, Function as Media Liaison for the College of Science. 2007 - 2022.
  • Chair, College of Science Curriculum Committee. October 2018 - December 2022.

2021

  • Member, SURE Selection Committee. 2018 - 2021.
  • Chair, Howard D. Schulze Biology Scholarship Committee. 2003 - 2021.
  • Member, Colene Drace Scholarship Committee. 2002 - 2021.
  • Board Member, P2P Movement. January 1, 2018 - December 2021.

2020

  • Member, SURE Advisory Council. October 6, 2017 - 2020.
  • Board Member, SURE Advisory Board. May 2017 - 2020.
  • Mentor, USDA/AAHHE mentor to Diana del Angel (TAMUCC), Martha Ramirez (TAMUK) and Stephanie Ramirez (LSU). March 2012 - 2020.
  • Editorial Review Board Member, BMC Research Notes. 2008 - 2020.
  • Reviewer / Referee, BMC Research Notes. May 2020.
  • Chair, Thesis Competition for American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education. June 2016 - March 2020.
  • Member, Parasitology Search Committee. February 2020.

2019

  • Reviewer / Referee, Council of Undergraduate Research. 2019.
  • Member, Research Service Center Advisory Board. 2013 - 2019.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Brain Resarch. May 2019 - October 2019.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Council on Undergraduate Research. January 16, 2019.

2018

  • Member, Search Committee for Chief Diversity Officer. November 2017 - 2018.
  • Reviewer, NSF-Improving Undergraduate STEM Education-HSI. December 28, 2018.
  • Organizer, IDEA School visit. October 8, 2018 - November 14, 2018.
  • Member, Undergraduate Research Fellowship Review Committee. October 11, 2018 - October 26, 2018.
  • Reviewer, NASA MIRO Competition. October 9, 2018 - October 10, 2018.
  • Host, Hosted Biology Seminar speaker Cynthia Luxford. September 2018.
  • Host, Hosted Biology Seminar speaker Bob McLean. September 2018.
  • Chair, Committee for Summative Review of Dean Welborn. January 1, 2018 - August 17, 2018.
  • Member, Functional Microbial Genomics Search Committee. November 9, 2017 - May 2018.
  • Faculty Senator, College of Science and Engineering. May 2015 - May 2018.

2017

  • Chair, Mentoring Committee (with Bob McLean and Weston Nowlin) for Shannon Weigum. 2011 - 2017.
  • Member, Academic Program Review for Department of Political Science. September 1, 2017 - December 2017.
  • Member, Women in Science and Engineering Panel. October 5, 2017.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for BMC Research Notes. July 2017.
  • Member, Dissertation Award Selection Committee. June 2017 - July 2017.
  • Member, Dissertation Award Selection Committee. June 5, 2017 - June 27, 2017.
  • Mace Bearer, Commencement. May 2016 - May 2017.
  • Chair, Honors College Experience Read-across Committee. March 21, 2017 - May 8, 2017.
  • co-Host, Co-hosted Biology Seminar speaker Julio Soto. April 2017.
  • Judge, Annual Undergraduate Research Conference. April 21, 2017.
  • Faculty supervisor, National Conference for Undergraduate Research. April 5, 2017 - April 9, 2017.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for Fish Physiology and Biochemistry. March 2017.
  • Member, University Distinguished Professor Award Committee. January 2017 - March 31, 2017.
  • Host, Hosted Biology Seminar speaker Tyrone Hayes. February 2017.

2016

  • Member, Faculty Senate Subcommittee on Concealed Carry. 2015 - 2016.
  • Member, Dean of College of Science Search Committee. 2015 - 2016.
  • Chair, Organismal Physiologist Search Committee. 2015 - 2016.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Microgravity Science and Technology. August 2016.
  • Member, Professional Development Panel at the University of Texas. July 2016.
  • Judge, Bridges to the Baccalaureate Final Project Presentation. July 30, 2016.
  • Panelist, Rising Stars Orientation Sessions/LBJ Institute. June 9, 2016 - July 26, 2016.
  • Co-author of talk, Science at the Brewery (Barrow Brewing Company). May 26, 2016.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Brain Research. April 2016.
  • Participant, Webinar on Latino Males in Higher Education. April 20, 2016.
  • Participant, Attended webinar entitled “Latino Males in Higher Education”. April 20, 2016.
  • Judge, Biology Colloquium. February 2016.
  • Host, Hosted Biology Seminar speaker Isaac Wiegman. February 2016.

2015

  • Reviewer, Graduate College’s Outstanding Dissertation Award. 2015.
  • Member, Biology Education Search Committee. 2014 - 2015.
  • International Representative, Texas Women in Higher Education. 2011 - 2015.
  • Chair, WISE Scholarship Committee. 2010 - 2015.
  • Chair, Departmental Space Committee. 2008 - 2015.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for BMC Pharmacology and Toxicology. August 2015.
  • Host, Hosted Biology Seminar speaker Margaux Salas. March 2015.
  • Judge, Judged theses for a USDA-sponsored competition administered through Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and the American Association for Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE). October 2013 - March 2015.
  • Mentor, Served as a mentor for the USDA-funded Cultivar program to promote entry of Hispanic students into graduate programs in areas of interest to the USDA. March 2012 - March 2015.
  • Judge, Judged theses for a USDA-sponsored competition administered through Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and the American Association for Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE). November 2011 - March 2015.
  • Host, Hosted Biology Seminar speaker Alyson McDonald. February 2015.
  • Organizer, Organized visit from St. John Paul II Catholic High School’s Advanced Placement Biology class to Texas State Biology Department to participate in immunology, physiology and microscopy labs. February 23, 2015.

2014

  • Member, Investigative Committee for Academic Dishonesty. 2014.
  • Attendee / Participant, Mentoring Conference. October 2014.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed materials for promotion for Michael Persans, The University of Texas-Pan American. August 2014.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for BMC Research Notes. July 2014.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Panel reviewer for National Science Foundation MRI program. April 2014.
  • Host, Hosted Biology Seminar speaker Michael Persans. March 2014.
  • Host, Hosted Biology Seminar speaker Shuying Sun. February 2014.

2013

  • Reviewer, Multi-disciplinary Internal Research Grant (MIRG) competition. 2013.
  • Participant, Worked at the College of Science and Engineering Booth at the 2013 SACNAS conference. 2013.
  • Member, Senior Microbiology Lecturer Search Committee. 2013.
  • Host, American Physiological Society Summer Teacher Researcher. 2013.
  • Member, Served on panel in the Common Experience series about Courage in Religion and Science. 2013.
  • Chair, Statistics Substitution Committee. 2012 - 2013.
  • Member, Academic Program Review Committee. 2012 - 2013.
  • Chair, WISE Conference Planning Committee. 2009 - 2013.
  • Attendee, Served in Dean Flores’s place on graduation platform party. December 2013.
  • Participant, Manned Texas State booth at the SACNAS Conference, San Antonio, Texas. October 4, 2013 - October 5, 2013.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Re-reviewed manuscript for Brain Research. June 2013.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed EDEN proposals for Evo/Devo/Eco Network. May 2013.
  • Participant, Visited Goodnight Middle School classroom as part of Project Flowing Waters. May 1, 2013.
  • Host, Hosted Biology Seminar speaker Harold Zakon. April 2013.
  • Host, Hosted Biology Seminar speaker Lynne Fieber. April 2013.
  • Volunteer, Took a 5th grade group from a charter school in San Antonio on a tour of my lab, the darkroom and the Integrated Microscopy Facility. April 30, 2013.
  • Judge, • USDA-sponsored competition administered through Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and the American Association for Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE). September 2012 - March 2013.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Program reviewer for the M.S. in Biology at Texas A&M Corpus Christi. February 2013.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed student grant proposal for Texas Academy of Science. February 2013.

2012

  • Organizer, Spearheaded nomination of Joseph Koke for Distinguished Professor Emeritus. 2012.
  • Organizer, Supported nomination of Paula Williamson for University Distinguished Professor. 2012.
  • Member, New Building Committee. 2012.
  • Chair, Curriculum subcommittee for Changes to the Math Requirements. 2012.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for Brain Research. December 2012.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Assigned manuscript for review for BMC Research Notes. July 2012.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed grant proposal for National Geographic. June 2012.
  • Host, Hosted Biology Seminar speaker Fernando Benavides. March 2012.
  • Host, Hosted Biology Seminar speaker Andres Pires da Silva. March 2012.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Assigned manuscript for review for BMC Research Notes. February 2012.

2011

  • Participant, Helped initiate the Joseph R. and Judith A. Koke Cell Biology Award. 2011.
  • Co-Host, Koke Retirement Party with Shannon Weigum and Joe and Annie Tomasso. 2011.
  • Participant, Participated in Wildlife Ecology search by meeting individually with the job candidates as well as attending their seminars. 2011.
  • Host, Biology Department Seminar speaker Matt Gdovin from UTSA. 2011.
  • Member, Vivarium Committee. 2010 - 2011.
  • Chair, Cell Bio Search Committee. 2010 - 2011.
  • University Mentor, LS-AMP students. 2001 - 2011.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for Brain Research. November 2011.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for PLoS ONE. November 2011.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for Neurotoxicology. October 2011.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for Brain Research. September 2011.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for PLoS ONE. August 2011.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Panel reviewer for Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships. March 2011.

2010

  • Participant, Dean’s interview with various faculty and chair job candidates throughout the college. 2010.
  • Participant, Monthly Materials Science lunches intended to foster research collaborations among materials science researchers in the different departments in the College of Science. 2010.
  • Member, BIOMSE Search Committee for 3 positions. 2010.
  • Member, Graduate Subcommittee on Journal Status. 2010.
  • Judge, 2010 International Research Conference for Graduate Students put on by Graduate College. November 4, 2010.
  • Sponsor, Nominated two new associate editors for BMC Research Notes and they were appointed. August 2010.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Assigned manuscript for review for BMC Research Notes. August 2010.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for Experimental Eye Research. August 2010.
  • Reviewer / Referee, panel reviewer for Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships. March 2010.

2009

  • Member, Academic Program Review team to review the Department of Anthropology. 2009.
  • Participant, Worked with Reddy Venumbaka (IEIS) to organize an intercollegial, biomedically focused “life sciences” research group. 2009.
  • Member, Exercise Sports Science Faculty Search Committee. 2008 - 2009.
  • Member, Dean of College of Science Search Committee. 2008 - 2009.
  • Host, Associate and Assistant Deans of the College of Education to host a Science, Technology and Engineering Education Event for Spring 2009. 2008 - 2009.
  • Member, Materials Science Chemistry Search Committee II. 2008 - 2009.
  • Attendee / Participant, STEM working group organized by the Sloan Foundation and the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education. January 2008 - December 2009.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for Neurotoxicology. November 2009.
  • Member, College Council. January 2006 - August 2009.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for American Journal of Physiology: Cell Physiology. July 2009.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Panel reviewer for Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships. March 2009.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for American Journal of Physiology: Cell Physiology. January 2009.

2008

  • Representative, Represented University on Austin Bio. 2008.
  • Participant, University and SMCISD. 2008.
  • Participant, Worked individually with faculty interested in submitting CAREER proposals. 2008.
  • Participant, • Contributed financially to the Colene Drace Award along with Joe Koke and Nihal Dharmasiri to increase the award from $100. 2008.
  • Participant, Wildlife Ecology search by meeting individually with candidates and (of course) attending their seminars. 2008.
  • Chair, Independence Committee. 2008.
  • Member, Aquatic Toxicologist Search Committee. 2008.
  • Editor, Appointed associate editor for BMC Research Notes. 2008.
  • Member, Materials Science Chemist Search Committee. 2007 - 2008.
  • Member, Promotion and Tenure Task Force. 2007 - 2008.
  • Member, Materials Science and Engineering Search Committee for Director and 2 Associate/Full Professors. 2007 - 2008.
  • Member, Development Committee. 2006 - 2008.
  • Attendee, Attended graduation (platform party) in Dean’s place. December 2008.
  • Participant, Visited Emerging Technologies with Reddy Venumbaka, Tom Myers and Terry Golding to investigate opportunities for collaboration. December 2008.
  • Attendee, Workshop on Living Learning Communities (LLC). November 2008.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for American Journal of Physiology: Cell Physiology. August 2008.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. July 2008.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed materials for promotion for Nancy Mangini, Indiana University. May 2008.
  • Attendee, Attended ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Ingram School of Engineering. April 2008.
  • Attendee, Department of Computer Science’s Internal Advisory Board meeting. April 2008.
  • Host, Hosted Bruce Leander (former CEO at ABI), who gave a talk to undergraduates on Careers in Biotechnology. April 2008.
  • Co-Host, Annual Physiology Party with Joe Tomasso and Joe Koke. April 2008.
  • ad hoc reviewer, Ad hoc reviewer for National Science Foundation. April 2008.
  • Keynote Speaker, Science Extravaganza. March 2008.
  • Host, Hosted Biology Seminar speaker Manuel Torres. March 2008.
  • Host, Hosted Biology Seminar speaker Janice Moore. March 2008.
  • ad hoc reviewer, Ad hoc reviewer for National Science Foundation. March 2008.
  • Attendee, Dean’s List reception on behalf of Dean. February 2008.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for the journal Microgravity Science and Technology. February 2008.
  • Participant, Provided an interview for Youniversity TV. January 2008.
  • Participant, Explore the possibility of starting a neurobiology honors course at Texas State. January 2008.
  • Host, Hosted Biology Departmental Seminar speaker Nanci Mangini (Indiana University Medical School). January 2008.
  • Organizer, Using a combination of grant and departmental funds, acquired an Eppendorf RealPlex quantitative PCR machine. January 2008.
  • Sponsor, Nominated Joe Koke for Mariel Muir Mentoring Award. January 2008.

2007

  • Participant, Visited Southwest Research Institute with a team from the College of Science in San Antonio to explore possible collaborations. 2007.
  • Attendee, Graduate College Information Fair. 2007.
  • Attendee, Graduate Student Recruitment Workshop. 2007.
  • Faculty Advisor, Function as Faculty Advisor (with Jaime Hernández) for MAES. 2007.
  • Attendee / Participant, Invited to serve on STEM Working Group to increase the number Hispanic Professors at Top Tier Universities, funded by a Sloan Foundation grant to the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education. 2007.
  • ad hoc reviewer, Ad hoc reviewer for National Science Foundation. 2007.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed manuscript for the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution. 2007.
  • Member, STEM Task Force. 2006 - 2007.
  • Member, Research Advisory Council. 2006 - 2007.
  • Member, Sponsored Projects Advisory Committee. 2006 - 2007.
  • Member, Mitte Chair in Water and GIScience Search. 2006 - 2007.
  • Organizer, Arranged and conducted a series of CAREER proposal writing workshops. 2006 - 2007.
  • Member, Program Review Committee. 2004 - 2007.
  • Member, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. 1995 - 2007.
  • Organizer, Arranged and conducted Grant Proposal Writing Workshops. October 2007.
  • Participant, Served in Dean Flores’s place on graduation platform party. May 2007.
  • Participant, Debated merits of human embryonic stem cell research for SACA debate. January 2007.

2006

  • Chair, General Science Lecturer Search Committee. 2006.
  • Member, Department of Biology Chair Search Committee. 2004 - 2006.
  • Reviewer / Referee, NSF Panel review. October 2006.
  • Organizer, Arranged and conducted Grant Proposal Writing Workshops. August 2006 - September 2006.
  • Reviewer / Referee, National Institutes of Health Bridges Panel Reviewer. February 2006.

2005

  • Chair, Departmental Space Committee. 2005.
  • Member, Departmental Planning Committee. 2005.
  • Chair, Developmental Biology Search Committee. 2004 - 2005.
  • Member, B3I Liaison Committee. 2003 - 2005.
  • Member, Tenure/Promotion/Continuance Committee. 2003 - 2005.
  • Chair, Scholarship CEC. 2003 - 2005.
  • Chair, Budget Committee. 1994 - 2005.
  • Marshall, May 2005 Commencement. May 2005.
  • Reviewer / Referee, NSF Panel reviewer. April 2005.

2004

  • Attendee / Participant, Served on Women in the Natural Sciences Panel at The University of Texas, discussing the tenure process at various types of universities. 2004.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Served as abstract reviewer for the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. 2004.
  • Writer, Wrote test bank questions for Wadsworth Publishing Company’s new physiology textbook (under contract). 2004.
  • Chair, Annual Review Committee. 2003 - 2004.
  • Chair, Restricted Chemicals Committee. 2003 - 2004.
  • Recruiter, Multiple recruitment trips to the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. October 2004.
  • Judge, Served as poster judge at LS-AMP meeting in Houston. October 2004.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Served as abstract reviewer for ABRCMS. September 2004.
  • Marshall, August 2004 Commencement. August 2004.

2003

  • Member, Sally Karnau Scholarship Committee. 2003.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed Purves et al., Neuroscience (Sinauer) as a volunteer. 2003.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Panel reviewer for the National Science Foundation. 2003.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Panel reviewer for the National Institutes of Health. 2003.
  • Participant, Panel discussion in the Philosophy Dialogue series. 2002 - 2003.

2002

  • Member, Planning Committee. 2002.
  • Member, Developmental Biology Search Committee. 2002.
  • Chair, Service CEC. 2000 - 2002.
  • Member, Safety Committee. 1999 - 2002.
  • Member, Safety Committee. 1999 - 2002.

2001

  • Chair, Developmental Biology Recruitment Task Force. 2001.
  • Member, Sally Karnau Scholarship Committee. 2001.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Served as panel reviewer for the National Science Foundation. 2001.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Reviewed numerous abstracts and manuscripts for German colleagues. 2001.
  • Moderator, Served as moderator in break-out group to discuss extracting administrative support for Bridges programs while at the Annual Bridges Program Directors' Meeting. 2001.
  • Participant, Judge in the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation Undergraduate Research Conference. July 2001.
  • Delegate, Traveled with delegation to NASA and the office Kay Bailey Hutchinson. June 2001.

2000

  • Chair, Biology Ph. D. Curriculum Committee. 2000.
  • Member, Steering Committee for Aquatic Resources Ph. D. 2000.
  • Member, Public Relations Committee. 2000.
  • Attendee / Participant, American Society for Cell Biology Young Scientists Program. 1994 - 2000.
  • Usher, December 2000 Commencement (undergraduate). December 2000.
  • Chair, Seminar Committee. 1994 - December 2000.
  • Writer, Wrote questions for the GRE. August 2000.
  • Participant, Judge in the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation Undergraduate Research Conference. July 2000.
  • Reviewer / Referee, Panel reviewer for the National Science Foundation. March 2000.
  • Panelist, Texas Science Summit 2000. January 2000.

1999

  • Member, Dean of General Studies Search Committee. 1998 - 1999.
  • Member, Departmental Post-tenure Review Committee. 1998 - 1999.
  • Member, President’s Council for Women. 1995 - 1999.
  • Marshall, December 1999 Commencement (undergraduate). December 1999.

1998

  • Member, Morning Student Commencement Speaker Committee. 1998.
  • Member, Suspension Appeals Committee. 1998.
  • Member, Writing Intensive Committee. 1998.
  • Member, Lecturer Search Committee. 1998.
  • ad hoc reviewer, Ad hoc reviewer for National Science Foundation. 1998.
  • Member, Physiologist Search Committee. 1997 - 1998.
  • Marshall, December 1998 Commencement (undergraduate). December 1998.

1997

  • Member, Departmental Post-tenure Review Committee. 1997.
  • Marshall, December 1997 Commencement (undergraduate). December 1997.
  • Recruiter, Multiple recruitment trips to the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. October 1996 - October 1997.

1996

  • Attendee, Workshop on retention in California to try to figure out ways to improve retention. 1996.
  • Co-Administer, Co-administer the Biology Department’s Integrated Microscopy Facility with Joe Koke. 1996.
  • Producer, Produced Department of Biology Graduate Brochure with Jim Ott and help from Gloria Maier (Media Relations and Publications). 1996.
  • University Mentor, Functioned as mentor in SWT Mentoring Program to Leslie Harper. 1995 - 1996.
  • Member, Safety Committee. 1995 - 1996.