James Coker is the Director of the Center for Biotechnology Education, which is a part of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and houses all of the biotechnology programs at JHU.
His research explores life in Earth’s extreme environments and harnesses the unique adaptations of the microorganisms living there for use in biotechnology applications. He has discovered several new enzymes and re-engineered them for industrial use. He has also characterized a novel system of gene regulation found within the Archaea. His research has helped catalog the limits of Life, and how the enzymes at extremes can be altered for industrial needs. He was also the Principle Investigator for two multicenter projects: one that studied the effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on the microbial populations of the Gulf Coast and the other examined the microbial life in the Bonneville Salt Flats.
He has collaborated with multiple national and international organizations to improve STEM education and train the university faculty and secondary education teachers of tomorrow. He has successfully employed AI-based methods of adaptive learning to improve student success and retention and authored policies governing the use of AI in the classroom. He has long been an advocate of increasing access to education – especially for adult and military students as well as people from underserved populations.
James has played an active role in shared governance at the University and State-level. He was elected by his peers to represent them on UMGC’s Academic Advisory Board (i.e. Faculty Senate) where he served in the Executive Committee as Secretary and Vice Chair. He was selected by the UMUC President to serve on the Faculty Advisory Council at the Maryland Higher Education Commission where he was elected (voted by other members of the Council) to serve as Secretary, Vice Chair, and Chair.
James earned two Bachelor of Science degrees in Zoology and Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, as well as a Minor in Philosophy, from Oklahoma State University and received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Microbiology from The Pennsylvania State University. He currently resides in Washington D.C. and is an ardent supporter of Chelsea F.C.