Course Information

At Pacific University, all faculty teach a variety of different courses. Typically, we do not use graduate teaching assistants, which means that your classes will be taught by professors and that you will have plenty of opportunities to get to know the faculty in your discipline.

Below I have listed some of the courses that I teach. We are always developing and trying out new classes, so the list may change now and then. 

ENV 100 | Environmental Studies Seminar

ENV 200 | Introduction to Environmental Science

ENV 210 | Tropical Environmental Biology

ENV 300 | Environmental Toxicology

ENV 380 | Environmental Problem Solving

ENV 490 | Senior Capstone

BIOL 240 | Human Physiology

BIOL 470 | Animal Physiology

Areas of Research & Specialization

Currently I am responsible for teaching Environmental Studies Seminar, Environmental Science, Environmental Toxicology and Problem Solving, Human Physiology, and Animal Physiology.

Areas of research include: aquatic toxicology and adaptational fish physiology; ecotoxicology; toxicant effects on fisheries, particularly on reproductive success; the use of in vitro systems to assess toxicity mechanisms on physiological processes in fish; the use of biomarkers to assess the heath of endangered and threatened fish in large river systems.

I also am interested in implications for re-introducing California condors, Gymnogyps californianus, in Oregon

Recently I published a paper titled: "Organochlorine contaminants in blubber from stranded marine mammals collected from the Northern Oregon and Southern Washington coasts: implications for re-introducing California Condors, Gymnogyps californianus, in Oregon" in the Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.

Education

Post Doctoral Appointment, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore., in 1995

Ph.D. in Toxicology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore., in 1994

Master of Science in Biology, University of Louisville, Louisville, Ky., in 1990

Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind., in 1987

Professional Affiliations

Sigma Xi

Phi Kappa Phi

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

Society of Toxicology

Honor & Awards

2005 | Thomas J. and Joyce Holce Professorship in Science, Pacific University

2012 | S.S. Johnson Award for Excellence in Teaching, Pacific University

Published Works

Gundersen D.T. and W.D. Pearson. 1992. "Partitioning of PCBs in the muscle and reproductive tissues of paddlefish, Polyodon spathula, at the Falls of the Ohio River." Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 49:455-462

Gundersen D.T. and W.D. Pearson. 1993. "Reproduction, age and growth analysis of paddlefish, Polyodon spathula, in the Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area." Trans. Ky. Acad. Sci. 54(1-2)

Gundersen D.T., S. Bustaman, W.K. Seim and L.R. Curtis. 1994. "pH, hardness and humic acid influence aluminum toxicity to rainbow trout (Oncorynchus mykiss), in weakly alkaline waters." Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 51:1345-1355

Gundersen D.T., and L.R. Curtis. 1995. "Acclimation to hard or soft water at weakly alkaline pH influences gill permeability and gill surface calcium binding in rainbow trout (Oncorynchus mykiss)." Can J Fish Aquat Sci. 52:2583-2593

Gundersen D.T., S.W. Kristanto, L.R. Curtis, S.N. Al-yakoob, and M.M. Metwally. 1995. "Subacute toxicity of the water-soluble fractions of Kuwaiti crude oil and partially crude oil on Menidia beryllina and Palaemonetes pugio." Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 31:1-8

Al-Yakoob S.N., D.G. Gundersen and L.R. Curtis. 1996. "Effects of the water-soluble fraction of partially combusted crude oil from Kuwait's oil fires (from Desert Storm) on survival and growth of the marine fish Menidia beryllina." Ecotox. Environ. Health 35:142-149

Gundersen D.T., M. Krahling, J. Donosky, R Cable and S. Mims. 1998. "Polychlorinated biphenyls and chlordane in the gonads of paddlefish, Polyodon spathula, from the Ohio River." Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 61:650-657

Gundersen D.T., R. Miller, A. Mischler, K Elpers, S.D. Mins, and J.G. Millar. 2000. "Biomarker response in polychlorinated biphenyl and chlordane contaminated paddlefish from the Ohio River Basin, USA." Environ Toxicol Chem. 19:2275-2285

Milston, R.H., Fitzpatrick M.S., Vella A.T., Gundersen D.G., Crippen T.L., Leong J.C., and Schreck C.B. 2001.  "Short term exposure of fall Chinook salmon (Oncoryhncus tshawytascha) to o,p'-DDE during early life history stages affects long-term competence of the humoral immune system."  Submitted to Aquatic Toxicology 7/01

Dasgupta S., R.J. Onders, D.T. Gundersen, and S.D. Mims.  2004. "Methyl mercury concentrations found in wild and farm-raised paddlefish."  J Food Sci 69:122-125

Grant W. Feist, Molly A.H. Webb, Deke T. Gundersen, Eugene P. Foster, Carl B. Schreck, Alec G. Maule and Martin S. Fitzpatrick.  2005. "Evidence of Detrimental Effects of Environmental Contaminants on Growth and Reproductive Physiology of White Sturgeon in Impounded Areas of the Columbia River." Environ Health Perspect.  113:1675-1682

Webb M.A.H., G.W. Feist, M.S. Fitzpatrick, E.P. Foster, C.B. Schreck, M. Plumlee, C. Wong, and D.T. Gundersen.  2006 "Mercury concentrations in gonad, liver, and muscel of white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, in the lower Columbvia River."  Arch Environ Contam Toxicol.  50:443-451.

Gundersen D.T., A. Fink, L. Kushner, B. Cady, and Webb M.A.H.  2007. "Using Blood Plasma for Monitoring Organochlorine Contaminants in Juvenile White Sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, fromt he Lower Columbia River."  Bull Environ Contam Toxicol

D.T. Gundersen, T. O’Day.  2008.  "Permaculture, a natural systems design approach for teaching sustainability in higher education: Pacific University’s B Street Permaculture project."  In: Rethinking Higher Education to Meet the New Challenges of Environmental Security, NATO Science Series, Springer NY.  pp 165 - 177

D.T.Gundersen.  2012.  "Bioaccumulation of contaminants in paddlefish (Polyodon spathua)."  In: Culture of Paddlefishes (Acipenseriformes; Polyodontidae) .  Mims and Shelton  (eds.).  Wiley & Sons Inc.  In press.

D.T. Gundersen, Duffield, D., Randall, Wintle, N., Shepherdson D.  2012.  "Organochlorine Contaminants in blubber samples from stranded marine mammals collected from the Oregon and Washington coasts; implications for re-introducing California condors in Oregon."  Manuscript submitted to Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

Presentations at Professsional Conferences

(* denotes undergraduate coauthor)

Gundersen D.T. Vavra J. and *Bernal M, Foster G., Fitzpatrick M.S.,  Webb M.A.H., Feist G., Schreck C.B.  2002.  "A Potential Hepatic Cytochrome P450 3A was Correlated with Liver p,p’-DDE and Plasma Testosterone in Wild White Sturgeon from the Columbia River. " 41st National meeting of the Society of Toxicology in Nashville, Tenn. March

G. Foster, M.S. Fitzpatrick,  M.A.H. Webb, G. Feist, C.B. Schreck, D.T. Gundersen, J. Paar. 2003.  "How Contaminant Data May Be Used in Management Decisions."  Regional meeting of the American Fisheries Society, Eugene, Ore.  February 2003

Gundersen, D.T. *Plumlee, M., *Wong, C., Paar, J., Schreck, C.B., Feist, G. Webb, M A. Maule, A.G., Foster, E., Fitzpatrick, M.S. 2003. "Endocrine disruption and persistent bioaccumulative contaminants in Columbia River white sturgeon."  42nd National meeting of the Society of Toxicology in Salt Lake City, Utah. March

*Bowe, D.D., *Boyle, P.R., Lowell, B.C. Foster E.P., Gundersen, D.T., Paar, J.M.  2003.  "Biochemical investigation of cytochrome P450 3A27 enzyme induction in response to p,p’-DDE exposure in white sturgeon."  National meeting of the American Chemical Society.  New Orleans, La.

Paar J., Gundersen, D.G., *Kushner, L., *Fink, A., and *Watterson, S.  2003.  "Persistent Bioaccumulative Contaminants and Biomarker Response in Columbia River White Sturgeon."  24th National meeting of the Society of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology.  Austin, Texas

Gundersen, Deke T, *Fink April, *Kushner Laura,  Schreck Carl B, Feist Grant W, Webb, Molly A,  Foster, Eugene, Fitzpatrick, Martin S.  2004.  "Using blood plasma for monitoring organochlorine contaminants in white sturgeon from the lower Columbia River."  25th National meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Portland, Ore.

Gundersen, Deke T, *Fink April, *Kushner Laura,  Schreck Carl B, Feist Grant W, Webb, Molly A,  Foster, Eugene, Fitzpatrick, Martin S.  2004.  "Mercury concentrations in gonad, liver, and muscle of white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, in the lower Columbia River."  25th National meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Portland, Ore.

Van Dyk, Bob, Gundersen, Deke, *Brown, Jocelyn, *Garcia, Katie, *Rott, Tara, and Zirk, Mackenzie.  2005.  "Lower Gales Creek Restoration Project."  Urban Ecology & Conservation Symposium. Portland State University, Portland, Ore., Jan. 28, 2005

O’Day, Terry; O’Day, Steve; Hastay, Ellen; Gundersen, Deke; Shipp, Greg; *Reeder, Xander; *Rhodes, Amanda; *Rutledge, Amanda; *Propheter, Megan; *Maldonado, Madaline.  2006.  "The B-Street Sustainability Project."  Urban Ecology & Conservation Symposium. Portland State University, Portland, Ore., Jan. 27, 2006.

Gundersen, Deke T; *Jerome, Schleier; *Bredeweg, Evan;  Webb, Molly A;  Foster, Eugene; Cady, Brad.  2006.  "Using blood plasma as a nondestructive means for monitoring persistent organochlorine pollutants in white sturgeon from the Columbia River Basin."  Abstract accepted for presentation at the 45th National meeting of the Society of Toxicology, San Diego, Calif. (March 2006)

Haapala, Kurt, and Deke Gundersen.  2006.  "Pacific University and Mahlum Architects: A model of holistic development."  North American conference of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), Tempe, Ariz. (October 2006)

*Fitzmorris B. C., D. T. Gundersen, and L. Sardinia.  2008. "Investigation of the lack of cytochrome P450 1A1 gene expression in paddlefish (Polyodon spathula)." National meeting of the American Chemical Society, New Orleans, La., April 2008

Sardinia L., *Fitzmorris, R., and Gundersen, D.T.  2008. "Investigation of the lack of cytochrome P450 1A1 gene expression in paddlefish (Polyodon spathula)."  Annual meeting of the Society of Toxicology, Seattle, Wash., March 2008.

Gundersen D.T., O’Day T.  2008. "Permaculture, a natural systems design approach for teaching sustainability in higher education: Pacific University’s B Street Permaculture project." NATO Science for peace and security programme, May 21 - 25, 2008, Kharkiv State Municipal Academy, Kharkiv, Ukraine. Invited speaker

Gundersen D.T., and *S. Miller.  2008. "Pacific University's B Street Permaculture Project; a Natural Systems Design Approach for Teaching Sustainability in Higher Education." North American conference of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Raleigh, NC

Gundersen D.T., and S. D. Mims.  2009.  "Bioaccumulative contaminants in paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) from large river systems of the United States."  The World Aquaculture Society – Aquaculture America. Seattle, Wash.  Invited speaker

*Robinson P., A.M. Erickson, D.T. Gundersen, L.M. Sardinia.  2009. "Gene expression in Polyodon spathua: A fishy approach." Murdock College Science Research Conference, Spokane, Wash.

Gundersen, D.T., D. Duffield.  2010.  "Pacific Northwest Marine Contaminants." Pacific Northwest Condor Summit, April 2010, Oregon Zoo, Portland, Ore.

Gundersen D.T., 2010. "Incorporating a permaculture curriculum into an academic environment." North American conference of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).  Denver, Colo.

Gundersen, D.T., S. Allen-Gil, S. Brylinski, A. Cortese, 2010. "Is it Time for a Revolution?" North American conference of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).  Denver, Colo.

Gundersen, D.T., D. Duffield, *T. Randall, *N. Wintle, and D. Sheperdson. 2010. "Organochlorine Contaminants in blubber samples from stranded marine mammals collected from the Oregon and Washington coasts; implications for re‐introducing California condors in Oregon." 31st National meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Portland, Ore.

*Kohl, K., H., *Lanza, D.T. Gundersen, R. Whiteley.  2011. "Organochlorine analysis of fish oil supplements." Murdock College Science Research Conference, Seattle, Wash.

*Kohl, K., H., *Lanza, D.T. Gundersen, R. Whiteley.  2011. "Organochlorine analysis of fish oil supplements." Pacific University undergraduate research conference.