Justin Varholick

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

Education

Post-doc Fellowship, Regenerative Biology, University of Florida ('19 - '25)
Ph.D. Biomedical Science, University of Bern, Switzerland ('15 - '18)
M.A. Biopsychology, UNC Greensboro @ Wake Forest University ('12 - '14)
B.A. Psychology and Biology, UNC Greensboro ('09 - '12)

About Me

What if our actions could help rebuild our bodies after an injury? As an ethologist, I explore how behavior and brain plasticity shape the process of tissue repair and nerve regeneration. My research follows a dynamic systems approach: healing isn't just about cells and genes, it's about how they interact with the brain, behavior, and the environment.

My research began as a curios undergrad learning about handedness development in infants and the effects of birth on brain development. Over time, I became fascinated by integrating animal behavior into biomedical research. This laid the groundwork for my current appraoch that animal behavior can be harnessed to understand how we can improve recovery after nerve injury.

Now, I lead the REPAIR Lab at Kennesaw State University. Here, we are working to understand and optimize how behaviors, environments, and biological systems together drive functional healing and recovery. I'm always looking for new questions and collaborators who want to push the boundaries of regenerative biology. 

Research Interests

Tissue repair, Tissue regeneration, Neurobiology, Neuroplasticity, Behavioral recovery, Phenotypic variability, Social dominance behavior,  Research design, Histology, Bioinformatics...