Dr. Ryan McCleary
Title: Assistant Professor of Instruction
CV:
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Email: ryanmccleary@usf.edu
Area of Interest: Biology
Ryan McCleary is an Assistant Professor of Instruction of Biology at the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus in the College of Arts & Sciences. Prior to the position, he spent two years as a Visiting Instructor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the USF Tampa and Sarasota-Manatee campuses. His research interests include just about anything related to snakes, but especially the evolution of snake venom.
Dr. McCleary received his B.S. in Biology from Western Michigan University, his M.S. in Biology from Virginia Tech, and his Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Florida. His dissertation concentrated on the evolution of venom in the Florida cottonmouth snake, Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti. After finishing his Ph.D., Dr. McCleary was a post-doctoral researcher at the National University of Singapore and Utah State University. Prior to starting at USF, he also spent two years as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Stetson University.
At USF, Dr. McCleary has taught (or is currently teaching) lecture courses in Biological Principles for Non-Majors; Biology II – Biodiversity; General Genetics; General Physiology; Organic Evolution; Venoms, Poisons, and Toxins; Biostatistics; and Chemical Ecology as well as Laboratory courses in General Genetics. Future courses to be taught include Principles of Ecology lecture and lab, and a study-abroad course called USF Singapore Urban Ecology.
Selected Research
Figueroa, A and RJR McCleary. 2021. Descending from the trees onto the mud to feed: Observation of ophiophagy by Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus (Gray, 1832) on Fordonia leucobalia (Schlegel, 1837). Herpetology Notes 14:1281-1285.
Asad, MHHB, RJR McCleary, I Salafutdinov, F Alam, HS Shah, S Bibi, A Ali, S Khalid, SMF Hasan, J-M Sabatier, MD Waard, I Hussian, and AA Rizvanov. 2019. Proteomics study of southern Punjab Pakistani cobra (Naja naja: formerly Naja naja karachiensis) venom. Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry 101:91-116 (DOI: 10.1080/02772248.2019.1619743).
Chapeaurouge, A, A Silva, P Carvalho, RJR McCleary, CM Modahl, J Perales, RM Kini, and SP Mackessy. 2018. Proteomic deep mining the venom of the red-headed krait, Bungarus flaviceps. Toxins 10(9):373 (DOI: 10.3390/toxins10090373).
McCleary, RJR, S Sridharan, N Dunstan, P Mirtschin and RM Kini. 2016. Proteomic comparisons of venoms of long-term captive and recently wild-caught Eastern brown snakes (Pseudonaja textilis) indicate venom does not change due to captivity. Journal of Proteomics 144:51-62.
Vonk, FJ, NR Casewell, CV Henkel, A Heimberg, HJ Jensen, RJR McCleary, HME Kerkkamp, R Vos, I Guerreiro, JJ Calvete, W Wüster, AE Woods, JM Logan, RA Harrison, TA Castoe, APJ de Koning, DD Pollock, M Yandell, D Calderon, C Renjifo, RB Currier, D Salgado, D Pla, L Sanz, AS Hyder, JMC Ribeiro, JW Arntzen, GEEJM van den Thillart, M Boetzer, W Pirovano, RP Dirks, HP Spaink, D Duboule, E McGlinn, RM Kini and MK Richardson. 2013. The king cobra genome reveals dynamic gene evolution and adaptation in the snake venom system. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 110(51):20651-20656. (issue cover story)
McCleary, RJR and DJ Heard. 2010. Venom extraction from anesthetized Florida cottonmouths, Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti, using a portable nerve-stimulator. Toxicon 55:250-255.