Justin Varholick

Assistant Professor of Biology
Dept. of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
Kennesaw State University

Education

Post-doc Fellowship '19-'25 Regenerative Biology, University of Florida
Ph.D. '15-'18 Biomedical Science, University of Bern, Switzerland
M.A. '12-'14 Biopsychology, UNC Greensboro, Wake Forest University 
B.A. '08-'12 Psychology and Biology, UNC Greensboro

About

I seek to understand how some vertebrates can regenerate complex tissues while others heal with a permanent loss of function. My research combines comparative biology, neuroscience, genomics, and quantitative approaches to uncover mechanisms that enable functional regeneration in naturally regenerative animals like African spiny mice and salamanders.

A central goal of my research is to move regenerative biology beyond anatomical repair by understanding how regenerated tissues recover sensation, movement, and neural circuitry. By integrating behavioral neuroscience with regenerative biology, I aim to define the biological processes that restore meaningful function after injury. 

My research also develops comparative transcriptomic resources and molecular tools to identify conserved regenerative mechanisms across tissues and species. These discoveries provide a foundation for designing therapeutic strategies that enhance regeneration in mammals and accelerate the translation of regenerative biology towards human medicine. 

All of our research takes place in the Varholick Lab at Kennesaw State University. If you are interested in tissue regeneration, behavioral recovery, comparative transcriptomics, or phenotypic plasticity, please reach out.