Dr. Vikram P. Narayan is an assistant professor of biological sciences and program coordinator for Applied Biology, where he leads curriculum development, academic planning, student advising and program initiatives. Dr. Narayan holds a joint Ph.D. from the University of Exeter and the University of Queensland and an M.Sc. from Lille Catholic University.
His research spans evolutionary biology, ecology, genomics, bioinformatics, aging biology and environmental adaptation. A central theme of his work is understanding how organisms respond to environmental change across scales, from genes and molecular pathways to whole organisms and ecological systems. His research has examined genotype-by-environment interactions, nutrition, lifespan evolution, aging and adaptation to novel environments, as well as molecular and genomic approaches to age-related traits and disease.
At Embry-Riddle, Dr. Narayan leads and co-leads research projects in ecological restoration and biodiversity, environmental DNA, trace-element analysis and AI-enhanced STEM education. He also co-directs Embry-Riddle’s participation in Student Spaceflight Experiments Program Mission 22 to the International Space Station, guiding undergraduate teams as they develop microgravity research proposals.
As a member of the NASA Open Science Data Repository Analysis Working Group, his broader interests include space and aerospace biology, evolutionary medicine and the use of computational and genomic tools to understand biological responses to extreme environments. He integrates these interests into undergraduate teaching and mentoring, with an emphasis on authentic research experiences, quantitative reasoning and scientific communication.
Dr. Narayan also serves as Community Outreach Program Director for an Equal Opportunities Initiative supported by the European Society for Evolutionary Biology and advises student organizations, including TriBeta, a collegiate honor society and academic fraternity for students of the biological sciences. His professional service includes peer review for NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project, the National Conference on Undergraduate Research and various scientific journals. He is committed to preparing the next generation of scientists to apply biological knowledge to real-world challenges while being honest, transparent and ethical scientists.
Ph.D. - Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Science, University of Queensland and University of Exeter