Faculty/Staff Directory
Dr. Donna Balding
478.471.2743
Graduate School Dean
Credentials: Ph. D.
| Office Hours: | M - F, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Locations: (Campus & Office) |
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| Website: | https://www.mga.edu/graduate-school/index.php |
| Biography: | Donna Balding, Ph. D. is currently serving as the Dean of the Graduate School at Middle Georgia State University. She was awarded the George W. Woodruff Fellowship to attain her Ph. D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from Emory University School of Medicine for her work comparing DNA site specific recombination systems and transposition systems in pathogenic bacteria. An NIH IRACDA FIRST Postdoctoral Fellowship supported Dr. Balding's post-doctoral position at Emory University, where her work focused on the mechanisms of iron uptake and utilization in bacterial pathogens. During this post-doctoral research, Dr. Balding served as a visiting scientist at the University of Calgary, working on the purification of outer membrane receptors involved in the stripping of heme from host hemoglobin. Her areas of specialization include molecular systems, bacterial pathogenesis, protein biochemistry, and DNA recombination. |
| Teaching and Research Interests: | Teaching Interests: Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Immunology, Anatomy & Physiology, Ethics. Research Interests: Bacterial Pathogenesis. |
| Courses: | BIOL 2251 Anatomy & Physiology I BIOL 2252 Anatomy & Physiology II BIOL 2260 Microbiology for Health Sciences BIOL 3540 Microbiology BIOL 4500 Immunology BIOL 4530 Molecular Biology BIOL 3130 Ethical Issues in Science BIOL 4120 Senior Seminar |
| Education: (All institutions attended and degrees or credentials earned) | Ph.D. in Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA | 2000 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Microbiology & Immunology Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA | 2000–2004 B.A. in Biology, Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA | 1992 |
| CV: | Donna Perkins Balding, Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate School Middle Georgia State University (478) 471-2743 (Office) donna.balding@mga.edu ________________________________________ o Over 20 years of Institutional (&USG) Knowledge and Experience at Middle Georgia State University, including hiring, procurement, budgeting/accounting, grant management/application, departmental and school-level administration, student/faculty affairs; served on Executive Committee during the two-year development of the Faculty Senate Bylaws and Faculty Handbook. o Academic program development, design, implementation, and assessment for Natural Sciences; responsible for moving program and course changes forward through Academic Affairs Committee and Senate; responsible for producing optimized course schedule for minimal student schedule conflicts. o Proficiency in using Institutional/USG computer software: BANNER, D2L/Brightspace, OneUSG, SWORDS o Experience in project management related to grant proposal development and writing across many disciplines/stakeholders/offices both internal and external to MGA. Excellent communication skills and ability to provide outreach. o Excellent critical thinking/problem resolution skills; ability to write and converse logically. |
| Professional Experience: | Dean, Graduate School, Middle Georgia State University | Jan 2025 – Present Director of the Office of Research & Sponsored Projects| 2023 - 2024 Assistant Chair, Department of Natural Sciences, Middle Georgia State University | 2014 – 2022 ________________________________________ Professor of Biology, Middle Georgia State University | 2017 – Present (Tenured) Assistant/Associate Professor of Biology, Middle Georgia State University | 2004 – 2017 (Tenured) Instructor, General Biology, Spelman College | Spring 2004 |
| Publications and Scholarships: (Last 5 Years) | A. Cannizzaro, D. Perkins-Balding, E. Lazo-Wasem and T. Sawicki. Morphological and molecular analyses reveal a new species of stygobitic amphipod in the genus Crangonyx (Crustacea: Crangonyctidae) from Jackson County, Florida, with a redescription of Crangonyx floridanus and notes on its taxonomy and biogeography. J. Natural History. 53:7-8, 1-49. 2019. A. Cannizzaro, D. Perkins-Balding, E. Lazo-Wasem and T. Sawicki. A Redescription of the Stygobitic Amphipod Crangonyx grandimanus (Amphipoda: Crangonyctidae) Including Phylogenetically Significant Sequence Data for Mitochondrial and Nuclear Genes. Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History Yale University. 59(2):109-125. 2018. Karls, A. and D. Perkins-Balding. Antigenic variation. In the Encyclopedia of Genetics. Brenner, S. and J. Miller (eds.). Elsevier, Academic Press. Maryland Heights, MO. 2012. Wang, Y., Y. Yuan-Yeu, D. Perkins-Balding, J. Thomson. Application of Site-Specific Recombination for Genetic Modification of Crop Plants. Plant Cell Reports. 2010. Rasmussen, A., H. Alexander, D. Perkins-Balding, K. Yi, W. Shafer, and I. Stojiljkovic. Resistance of Neisseria meningitidis to the toxic effects of heme iron and other hydrophobic agents requires expression of ght. J. Bacteriol. 187(15):5214-5223. 2005. Skaar,E., B. LeCuyer, A. Lenich, M. Lazio, D. Perkins-Balding, H. Seifert, A. Karls. Analysis of the Piv Recombinase-Related Gene Family of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. J. Bacteriol. 187(4):1276-1286. 2005. Perkins-Balding, D., A. Rasmussen, and I. Stojiljkovic. Bacterial heme and hemoprotein receptors. In Iron transport in bacteria. Crosa, J, A. Mey, and S. Payne (eds.). ASM Press, Washington, D.C. 2004. Perkins-Balding, D., M. Ratliff-Griffin, and I. Stojiljkovic. Iron transport systems in Neisseria meningitidis. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 68(1):154-171. 2004. Perkins-Balding, D., M. T. Baer, and I. Stojiljkovic. Identification of important functional regions of a hemoglobin receptor from Neisseria meningitidis. Microbiol. 149(12):3423-3435. 2003. Stojiljkovic, I., and D. Perkins-Balding. Processing of heme and heme containing proteins by bacteria. DNA Cell Biol. 21(4)281-95. 2002. |
| Organizations: | American Society for Microbiology Human Anatomy & Physiology Society |
| Awards and Honors: | Middle Georgia State University Faculty Research Award (2022) NIH IRACDA FIRST Postdoctoral Fellowship (2001-2004) George W. Woodruff Fellowship (1994-2000) |
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