DEBORAH M. GARRITY

Portrait of Debbie Garrity

Professor, Department Chair
Office: Biology, Room 111
Phone: 970-491-2513
Email: Deborah.Garrity@colostate.edu

Professor Deborah Garrity is a proud alumnus of Colorado State University, where she double majored in Biology and Biochemistry. She completed a PhD in Developmental Genetics at Cornell University and was a Post-doctoral Fellow in Medicine at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital. In 2003, she returned to CSU Biology Department as an Assistant Professor. She founded a research group investigating the genes required for embryonic heart development. Her interests include biomechanical contributions to cardiac development, as well as genetic contributions to embryonic heart rhythm, function, and morphology. Through instructing courses such as LIFE102 Attributes of Living Systems, BZ475 Genetics of Model Organisms and BZ311 Developmental Biology, she discovered the joy of sharing biology and its many quirks with students. Professor Garrity has a longstanding commitment to excellence in undergraduate education and is a campus-wide leader of faculty professional development. In 2018, Dr. Garrity was recognized as Professor Laureate, the highest academic honor the College of Natural Sciences bestows on faculty for outstanding contributions to its mission.

Dr. Garrity has been Chair of the Biology Department since 2020.