Biology Faculty

Dr. Elena Birdsong grew up in Peru as part of a large traditional family where education was viewed as the key to success in life. Since early childhood, her parents fostered an aurora of education that involved the medical sciences – exposing Elena to medical games, toys, and the occasional hospital trip where a family friend worked. She graduated from the prestigious San Marcos University School of Medicine in Lima Peru, where she obtained her General Medicine degree in 1986 after defending her thesis on “Liver Hydatidosis Disease in Peru”. She successfully applied to and was granted admission to the General Surgery program at San Marcos University Hospital, where she graduated again in the top of her class in 1990. In 2001, Elena immigrated to the United States with her two children and joined the teaching faculty at NTCC in 2007. Her unique experience as a clinician surgeon and teacher of medical residents has placed her in a favorable position to help her students learn the complexities of the human body.

Outside of work, Elena stays busy helping her husband with taking care of their newly adopted daughter. When able, she enjoys reading, traveling, and being social.

Associate Professor Alanta Knox graduated from High School in Mount Vernon, Texas, and received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Texas A&M University at Commerce. She got her M.S. in Biology from Texas A&M. Her thesis was titled “Maple Syrup Urinary Disease”. She also continued her education and received a Masters in Educational Leadership. Professor Knox is an advocate for Texas Public Schools. Over the course of her career her passion is identifying struggling learners and developing a concentrate plan for students to be successful and ultimately reach their career goals! 

Outside of work Alanta’s hobbies include attending cooking classes and go to high-end grocery stores.

Dr. Chris McAllister graduated from High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, and received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He got his M.S. in Biology from Arkansas State University. His Ph.D. was earned from the University of North Texas in Ecology. His doctoral thesis was entitled, “Systematics of Coccidian Parasites (Apicomplexa) from Amphibians and Reptiles in Northcentral Texas”. Dr. McAllister also received a postdoctoral fellowship in Internal Medicine at the VA Medical Center in Dallas where he studied diabetes research.

Chris’ research involves describing new species to science from his work on parasites of vertebrates, primarily fishes, reptiles, and birds. He is the author of over 700 papers in leading scientific journals, including Journal of Parasitology, Acta Parasitologica, Systematic Parasitology, and Folia Parasitologica.

A native of Mt. Pleasant, Lesa Presley has been a faculty member in higher education since 2005. Dr. Presley earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from East Texas State University (now, Texas A&M University – Commerce). She earned her Master of Science in Biology from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. Her thesis was titled: Some physiological effects of Crotalus basiliscus venom on the mammalian system. Lesa completed significant post graduate work at Arizona State University where she worked as a research assistant studying Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. After 10 years in higher education, Dr. Presley sensed a need to enrich her knowledge base and earned her Ph.D. from Texas Tech University. Her dissertation was titled The use of evidence-based instructional practices in the context of undergraduate biology: A case study.

Dr. Presley’s hobbies include hiking, camping, traveling, and SCUBA. Lesa has traveled to many of our nation’s National Parks and most of the Texas State Parks. “My favorite National Park destinations have been Glacier, Wrangell - St. Elias, North Cascades, and Yosemite.”

Dr. Presley is married with two children and three grandchildren.

A graduate of both Northeast Texas Community College and The University of Texas at Tyler, Professor Yarbrough first joined the department as a part-time faculty member at NTCC in 2016 to teach general biology and anatomy and physiology. She has previously worked as a research assistant for The University of Texas at Tyler Health Science Center, Scott & White, and The University of Texas Southwester Medical Center where her work centered on performing biological assays to determine effectiveness of immunological treatments on pediatric leukemia in vivo and in vitro. Now a full-time faculty member since 2019, she also holds a second master’s degree in Instructional Technology. She is very active in scouting where she has served in multiple positions and has volunteered with Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Patient Pet Therapy with Scott & White Hospital.