Research

Graduate and undergraduate research concentrations are available in ecology and evolution (animal behavior, genetics, microbial ecology and systematics), medical biosciences (aging, development, neurobiology and physiology) and reproductive biology (development, endocrinology and fertility). Possibilities for multidisciplinary research are further enhanced by interdepartmental graduate programs offered in the neurosciences and bioinformatics.

A wide variety of ongoing projects have produced a stimulating environment for graduate and undergraduate research. These projects include areas such as:

• the study of germ cell development in salmonids and the establishment of a germplasm repository for threatened and endangered fish - Joseph Cloud
• examination of metabolic regulation within gametes of salmonids and sturgeon - James Nagler
• the development of behavior, play, and sexual selection in animals - John Byers
• the ecology and adaptive evolution of prokaryotic organisms - Larry Forney
• phylogeography, phylogenetics and their use in conservation biology - Jack Sullivan
• experimental evolution of bacterial viruses - Holly Wichman
• photoreceptor differentiation during retinal development and regeneration - Deborah Stenkamp
• plasmids - horizontal gene transfer - Eva Top

For more information about faculty research concentrations in the Department of Biological Sciences, use the lab links at the left or view the faculty profiles. Also, be sure to browse our list of research facilities.