squeeze the host during infections?
IN THE NEWS
Three Biology Faculty Receive Funding from the WoodNext Foundation
Dr. Deborah Bell-Pedersen, Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Biological Clocks Research, received a continuing award of $545,000 for her research project titled Circadian clock-based treatments for jet lag and aging. Assistant Professor Dr. Matt Moulton, and Professor and Head of Biology Dr. Alex Keene received $200,000 for their project titled Functional Assessment of Dementia Risk Genes and Pharmacological Interventions. Please read the article for more information on the projects and the WoodNext Foundation!
Dr. Susan C. Alberts Joins TAMU Biology as Hagler Fellow
The Texas A&M University Department of Biology is thrilled to announce that Dr. Susan Alberts will be joining our ranks as a Hagler Fellow starting in Fall 2024. Dr. Alberts, the Robert F. Durden Distinguished Professor of Biology and the Dean of Natural Sciences at Duke University, will be bringing to the department her passion for understanding how and why animal behaviors evolve. Take a moment to read about Dr. Alberts and our department!
Three Texas A&M Biologists Receive Coveted MIRA Research Grants
For the second consecutive year, three faculty members in the Department of Biology have received National Institutes of Health Maximizing Investigators’ Research Awards (MIRA) recognizing their sustained research potential in bacterial and applied phage biology, neurobiology, and behavioral and evolutionary biology. Please take a look at Drs. Koch, Moran, and Ramsey’s research!
Texas A&M Biology Shines at Darwin Day Outreach Event
On February 28, Texas A&M’s Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EEB) program hosted its annual Darwin Day outreach event, drawing an impressive crowd of 1,500 visitors from across Bryan-College Station. This year’s event was one of the largest yet, featuring 56 booths representing research labs, student organizations, and community partners, all focused on sharing the excitement of evolution, genetics, and the biological sciences with the public. Labs across the Biology Department developed activities, including hands-on experiments, live organisms, and interactive displays that introduced visitors to key evolutionary biology, genetics, and biodiversity concepts!
Biology Graduate Student Spotlight: Merilyn Beebe
I was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and grew up moving from place to place as a military kid. After graduating high school, I came to Texas A&M University in 2015 to study Biochemistry and Genetics. After completing my degrees in 2019, I started graduate school as a Microbiology major in the Biology Department. Shortly after starting the PhD program, I joined Joe Sorg’s lab where I have spent the past several years studying phenotypic variation in clinically relevant C. difficile strains. When not in the lab or reading/writing papers, I spend time outside with my dog Kai, working on crochet projects, and attempting new recipes.
SPRC Spotlight: Vanessa Muhl
This week, we are highlighting the SPRC 1st Place Post-Doctoral Winner, Vanessa Muhl! Congratulations to Vanessa on this outstanding achievement.
RESEARCH
Basic biological research has evolved into a broad, fast-paced and dynamic profession that drives newly emerging industries and actively shapes many human endeavors. Both globally and locally, cutting-edge research at Texas A&M University strives to understand the fundamental processes driving life around us and to improve the ways people everywhere manage their health and the health of our planet. The Department of Biology is responsible for research and teaching within the vast disciplines of the biological sciences, from molecular cell biology to ecology and evolutionary biology. Our faculty perform cutting-edge research in a wide array of biological sciences in the laboratory and in the field.
GRADUATE DEGREES
Our Graduate Program in Biology offers a diverse range of integrative training opportunities for students seeking a Ph.D. degree in the biological sciences. We offer training in multiple disciplines within Biology, including Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics, Neurobiology and Behavior, Microbiology, Plant Biology, Biological Clocks, Mechanisms of Biological Resilience, and Physiology and Systems Biology. Our graduate students conduct creative, independent research and scholarship. Graduates of our programs prepare themselves for a wide range of career opportunities and gain positions in academic institutions, government agencies, and industry.
UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES
The Department of Biology is responsible for introducing biological principles to students in every Texas A&M University major. We provide modern and comprehensive B.S. and B.A. curricula in Biology, Molecular and Cell Biology, Microbiology, Neuroscience, and Zoology for more than 1500 undergraduate biology majors. These degrees prepare students for various life science careers and are an excellent entrée to the health care professions. If you are interested in pursuing a major in one of our disciplines, or if you are currently a student and would like information on courses or the program, we have excellent undergraduate advisors who will be happy to help you.