Hugo Castillo

Title
Assistant Professor
Email
Department
Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology
College
College of Arts & Sciences

Office Hours

401.03 COAS Monday and Wednesday, 10:00-12:00. Other times by appointment.

Areas of Expertise

Radiation Biology

Biological Effects of Microgravity

Microbial Ecology

Transcriptomic Analysis

Gene Expression Regulation

Hugo Castillo

I graduated from the Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua, in Mexico, with a B.S. in Ecology and later got a Ph.D. in Microbial Ecology from Penn State University. For over 15 years I have studied the taxonomic and functional succession of microbial communities present in animal wastewater treatment systems, agricultural soils, the rumen of cows and during the composting of organic matter. More recently I spent 5 summers working at an underground laboratory in the desert of New Mexico on a project aimed to identify the contribution of background radiation to homeostatic control in bacteria, mammalian cells and nematodes. Here at ERAU I have set up a Space Microbiology Laboratory where I develop and validate microgravity analogs to help us formulate research-driven hypotheses for biology experiments at the ISS and beyond. In my lab, students learn state-of-the-art techniques to measure differential gene expression and different phenotypic and physiological biological endpoints in response to space-like conditions. 


  • Ph.D. - Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
  • BIO 120: Foundations of Biology I
  • BIO 216: Microbiology
  • BIO 216L: Microbiology Laboratory
  • BIO 405: Molecular & Cell Biology
  • BIO 405L: Molecular & Cell Biology Lab
  • BIO 499: Special Topics in Biology
  • BIO 399: Special Topics in Biology

BIO 120   Foundations of Biology I

BIO 120L Foundations of Biology I Laboratory

BIO 216   Microbiology

BIO 216L Microbiology Laboratory

BIO 405   Molecular and Cellular Biology

BIO 405L Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory


Research Associate Professor, Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM (September 2017-June 2018)

​Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM (September 2012-August 2017)

Quality and Microbiology Laboratory Manager, Alimentos y Nutricion, Chihuahua, Mexico. (September 2011-July 2012)

Visiting Research Associate, Department of Entomology and Plant Physiology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK (May 2011-August 2011)

Assistant Professor, Animal Sciences Department, Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico (March 2006-March 2010)