Rate My Professor Aaron Severson

Dr. Aaron Severson is an Associate Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences at Cleveland State University, where he also serves as Biology Undergraduate Program Director and Chair of the Institutional Biosafety Committee. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon Institute of Molecular Biology in 2002. Following his doctoral studies, Severson conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology from 2002 to 2012, including work in Györgyi Csankovszki's laboratory supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He joined Cleveland State University as an Assistant Professor in 2012, advancing to Associate Professor, and holds an adjunct staff position in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. Severson is affiliated with the Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease. His research focuses on the mechanisms ensuring accurate genome transmission during meiosis in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. He studies chromosome segregation, DNA replication, generation of sister chromatid cohesion, homolog pairing, crossover recombination, and the roles of protein complexes such as meiotic cohesin, separase, securin, and condensin in preventing genetic instability and aneuploidies, which contribute to reproductive health issues including miscarriages, birth defects, and conditions like Down syndrome. These processes are conserved across eukaryotes, with implications for human gametogenesis. Severson utilizes techniques including live-cell imaging and CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing.