The Biology Department offers a balanced curriculum. Students study life at all levels - from molecules to cells, from microorganisms to plants and animals, and from individuals to populations. With the help of faculty advisors, students choose courses that fulfill both the degree requirements and their individual goals. The biology curriculum comprises slightly more than twenty-five percent of the course work required for graduation.
Biology majors begin with a five quarter sequence of required biology courses two of them with laboratories. The first three quarters focus on ecology,evolution physiology & genetics. The last two quarters students have "hands on" opportunity to learn about these subjects in a laboratory environment. After completing the core courses, students choose seven or more upper-division courses from a long list of electives.
Courses include strong writing components, experiments with modern equipment, and the critical analysis of data and scientific literature. Laboratory sections enroll twenty-four or fewer students, promoting close interactions between students and their professors. Assignments often require students to present their findings utilizing styles of professional scientific meetings or journals. Such activities prepare students for their future careers by developing the critical thinking and language skills needed by scientists.
Submissions from 2020
UV radiation increases flavonoid protection but decreases reproduction in Silene littorea, José Carlos del Valle, Mª Luisa Buide, Justen B. Whittall, Fernando Valladares, and Eduardo Narbona
Genome skimming and microsatellite analysis reveal contrasting patterns of genetic diversity in a rare sandhill endemic (Erysimum teretifolium, Brassicaceae), José Carlos del Valle, Julie A. Herman, and Justen B. Whittall
Sustainable, Alginate-Based Sensor for Detection of Escherichia coli in Human Breast Milk, Nicholas Kikuchi, Margaret May, Matthew Zweber, Jerard Madamba, Craig M. Stephens, Unyoung Kim, and Maryam Mobed-Miremadi
Unexpected predicted length variation for the coding sequence of the sleep related gene, BHLHE41 in gorilla amidst strong purifying selection across mammals, Krishna Unadkat and Justen B. Whittall
Submissions from 2019
Stability of petal color polymorphism: the significance of anthocyanin accumulation in photosynthetic tissues, José Carlos del Valle, Cristina Alcalde-Eon, Mª Teresa Escribano-Bailón, Mª Luisa Buide, Justen B. Whittall, and Eduardo Narbona
Whole Plastome Sequencing Within Silene Section Psammophilae Reveals Mainland Hybridization and Divergence With the Balearic Island Populations, José Carlos del Valle, Inés Casimiro-Soriguer, Mᵃ Luisa Buide, Eduardo Narbona, and Justen B. Whittall
Submissions from 2018
Phenotypic plasticity in light-induced flavonoids varies among tissues in Silene littorea (Caryophyllaceae), José Carlos del Valle, Mª Luisa Buide, Justen B. Whittall, and Eduardo Narbona
Digital photography provides a fast, reliable, and noninvasive method to estimate anthocyanin pigment concentration in reproductive and vegetative plant tissues, José C. del Valle, Antonio Gallardo-López, Mª Luisa Buide, Justen B. Whittall, and Eduardo Narbona
A Tree of Trees: Using Campus Tree Diversity to Integrate Molecular, Organismal, and Evolutionary Biology, Sophia Huang and Justen B. Whittall
Resolving two Haploembia (Embioptera: Oligotomidae) cryptic species: molecular data confirms parthenogenetic females can be distinguished by their antisocial behavior, Erin T. Kelly, Justen B. Whittall, and Janice Edgerly-Rooks
Structural and wetting properties of nature's finest silks (order Embioptera), Grace Y. Stokes, Evangelea N. DiCicco, Trevor J. Moore, Vivian C. Cheng, Kira Y. Wheeler, John Soghigian, Richard P. Barber Jr., and Janice Edgerly-Rooks
Submissions from 2017
Genomic Analysis of Factors Associated with Low Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli Sequence Type 95 Strains, Craig M. Stephens, Sheila Adams-Sapper, Manraj Sekhon, James R. Johnson, and Lee W. Riley
Submissions from 2016
Transcriptome and Biochemical Analysis of a Flower Color Polymorphism in Silene littorea (Caryophyllaceae), Inés Casimiro-Soriguer, Eduardo Narbona, Mª L. Buide, José C. del Valle, and Justen B. Whittall
Choreography of silk spinning by webspinners (Insecta: Embioptera) reflects lifestyle and hints at phylogeny, David McMillan, Kyle Hohu, and Janice Edgerly-Rooks
Reproductive success through high pollinator visitation rates despite self incompatibility in an endangered wallflower, Miranda K. Melen, Julie A. Herman, Jessica Lucas, Rachel E. O’Malley, Ingrid M. Parker, Aaron M. Thom, and Justen B. Whittall
Surface and wetting properties of embiopteran (webspinner) nanofiber silk, Thomas M. Osborn Popp, J. Bennett Addison, J. S. Jordan, V. G. Damle, K. Rykaczewski, S. L. Chang, G. Y. Stokes, Janice Edgerly-Rooks, and Jeffery L. Yarger
Submissions from 2015
The spinning apparatus of webspinners – functional-morphology, morphometrics and spinning behaviour, Sebastian Büsse, Thomas Hörnschemeyer, Kyle Hohu, David McMillan, and Janice Edgerly-Rooks
On flavonoid accumulation in different plant parts: variation patterns among individuals and populations in the shore campion (Silene littorea), José C. del Valle, Mª Luisa Buide, Inés Casimiro-Soriguer, Justen B. Whittall, and Eduardo Narbona
Draft Genome Sequence of a Community-Associated Methicillin- Resistant Panton-Valentine Leukocidin-Positive Staphylococcus aureus Sequence Type 30 Isolate from a Pediatric Patient with a Lung Infection in Brazil, Craig M. Stephens, Paul Jang-Yeon Cho, Veronica Afonso de Araujo, Ivete Martins Gomes, Selma Maria de Azevedo Sias, Claudete A. Araújo Cardoso, Lee W. Riley, and Fábio Aguiar-Alves
Complete Genome Sequences of Four Escherichia coli ST95 Isolates from Bloodstream Infections, Craig M. Stephens, Jeffrey M. Skerker, Manraj S. Sekhon, Adam P. Arkin, and Lee W. Riley
Submissions from 2014
Structural characterization of nanofiber silk produced by embiopterans (webspinners), J. Bennett Addison, Thomas M. Osborn Popp, Warner S. Weber, Janice Edgerly-Rooks, Gregory P. Holland, and Jeffery L. Yarger
Transcriptome Analysis of a Petal Anthocyanin Polymorphism in the Arctic Mustard, Parrya nudicaulis, Timothy Butler, Cynthia Dick, Matthew L. Carlson, and Justen B. Whittall
Draft Genome Sequences of Antibiotic-Resistant Commensal Escherichia coli, Meghan Garrett, Jennifer Parker, and Craig M. Stephens
Description of four new species of the genus Ptilocerembia Frederichs, 1923 (Embioptera: Ptilocerembiidae) from Thailand, Pisit Poolprasert and Janice Edgerly-Rooks
A comparison of the Caulobacter NA1000 and K31 genomes reveals extensive genome rearrangements and differences in metabolic potential, Craig Stephens, Kurt Ash, Theta Brown, Tynetta Watford, LaTia E. Scott, and Bert Ely
