Reversing structural abnormalities
6/21/24
A master regulator gene, FOXG1 is one of the most important genes for early brain development and its impairment can result in profound brain structure abnormalities. Professors Soo-Kyung Lee and Jae Lee previously established that the FOXG1 gene and protein remain active in mice after birth, so they wondered if restoring FOXG1 levels could reverse some of the abnormalities associated with FOXG1 syndrome. According to their study, published June 5 in Molecular Therapy Methods & Clinical Development, the therapy normalized the number of OPCs while restoring myelination. Read the news article.
Our faculty 'lead with the lab'
4/26/22

The instructional philosophy, 'lead with the lab', allows our students to develop critical thinking skills while providing broad, deep, state-of-the art training in all life science disciplines.

We cultivate an active community of inquiry
12/18/23

Faculty teaching and research connects academic programs and experiential labs to cultivate an active community of results-oriented inquiry.

Krabbenhoft Aquatic Ecology Lab testing how freshwater mussels may improve water quality of Niagara River
7/19/23
According to Dr. Corey Krabbenhoft (Department of Biological Sciences), “Freshwater mussels feed by filtering things like bacteria and contaminants out of the water. A great way to help our waterways become healthier is to invest in freshwater mussels." UB Research News published an article about the work of Krabbenhoft, and Dr. Isabel Porto-Hannes (Department of Environment and Sustainability). They are conducting a pilot study to determine if the water and sediment quality of the upper Niagara River is acceptable for a possible large-scale reintroduction of freshwater mussels to naturally clean the waterway. Read the article by Jackie Hausler
Our students learn by doing
4/8/24

Our curriculum provides students broad and deep training at the cutting edge of modern biology through a learn-by-doing philosophy. Our approach to teaching cross-disciplinary life sciences prepares students for today's accelerating pace of discovery in biological sciences.

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APPLY TO ONE OF OUR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS
APPLY TO ONE OF OUR GRADUATE PROGRAMS

FALL 2024 Events

Biological Sciences Seminar Series

THURSDAY SEMINARS, 3:45 p.m.
 NSC 218, UB North Campus

8/29/24          
Shermali Gunawardena
UB Biological Sciences
Hunting for Huntingtin cargoes: Clues as to how defective trafficking within axons can initiate neurodegeneration.

9/26/24          
Sarah Hird
University of Connecticut
Comparative Analyses of the Avian Microbiome

10/3/24
Jay Bangs
 UB Microbiology & Immunology

10/10/24
Distinguished Alumni: Jerry Shen
AceLink Therapeutics 
Leveraging of glycolipid biology in the development of groundbreaking therapies for genetic diseases of glycolipid metabolism

10/24/24        
New Frontiers: Paul Ahlquist 
University of Wisconsin, Madison
New Frontiers

>See list of all seminars, 2024-25


Also see UB Calendars:

Student and Alumni News

  • UNDERGRADUATES: Apply to win a 2024-25 scholarship or fellowship
    8/27/24

    The Department of Biological Sciences invites our undergraduates to apply to win one of our research fellowships. The awards of up to $2,000, each, are made possible by generous donations from our alums. Six fellowships, awarded to select students each year, provide financial support to enrich the educational experiences of our undergraduate students. The fellowship application portal opens on September 3. Applications are due on or before October 4, 2024. 

  • Aniket Maini named 2024 Outstanding Senior
    6/4/24
    Aniket Maini of Syracuse, N.Y., has been named 2024 Outstanding Senior. He graduates summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences and a minor in Spanish. Maini has served as the president of the University at Buffalo Badminton Club and the Association of Pre-Medical Students, and as an ambassador for the College of Arts and Sciences. A member of the University Honors College, Maini has served as a teaching assistant for biology courses six times under Professors Jessica Poulin and Nitasha Sehgal. He has also completed research under Assistant Professor David Heppner in the Department of Chemistry, receiving the Raszl Endowment Fellowship from the Department of Biological Sciences along the way. In the fall, Maini will pursue a medical degree at the University of Massachusetts T.H. Chan School of Medicine.
  • Sehgal and Arnavu named outstanding leaders
    5/2/24
    Nitasha Sehgal and Selin Arnavut are winners of the Pillars of Leadership Awards. The awards are designed to recognize individuals and organizations who have demonstrated a commitment to leadership, service, and the University at Buffalo.
  • Alber Aqil wins $1,000. in Three-Minute Thesis competition
    3/11/24
    BIO PhD student Alber Aqil's presentation, “Echoes from the Past", earned third place in UB's 2024 Three Minute Thesis competition. Aqil, a PhD student with Dr. Omer Gokcumen, presented a research project that he conducted with Dr. Charlotte Lindqvist. The work examines the relationship of DNA from ancient bone fragments found in a cave in Alaska to modern-day humans living nearby. Their research shows that the Tlingit people, indigenous to Southeast Alaska, have been living in basically the same location for at least 3,000 years. Upon winning the award of $1,000, Aqil calculated he earned $333 for each minute of his presentation.
  • Mahmud Amin wins PEARL grant awarded by the UB Experiential Learning Network
    4/20/22
    The Department of Biological Sciences is pleased to announce that UB's Experiential Learning Network (ELN) has awarded a new grant of up to $2,500. to Mahmud Amin, a junior biological sciences major. Amin is one of the first recipients of the PEARL Award (Prepare, Engage, Add value, Reflect and Leverage). The award recognizes UB undergraduate juniors and seniors who have partnered with a faculty mentor and completed a necessary digital badge for their project. Read UBNow.

Faculty Research

  • Funding and Grants
    3/6/24
    The Department of Biological Sciences supports the research of our faculty, postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, and undergraduates through funding obtained from many granting agencies, including both government and private foundations. Active and completed grants are listed on this page.
  • Genomics
    4/19/24
    Genomics faculty address questions concerning the mechanisms that drive evolutionary change. A variety of theoretical, descriptive and novel experimental approaches using recent advances in genomic methodology are being used to address the roles played by various evolutionary processes in shaping organisms and populations.
  • Fungal Biology
    1/5/24
    Faculty explore how filamentous fungi and budding yeasts assess nutrient availability and respond appropriately by adjusting gene expression, budding patterns, cell morphology, and cell wall structure. Some of these studies involve opportunistic fungal pathogens. Our faculty also use yeast as a model organism to investigate the molecular basis of gene expression, including transcription, RNA processing and translation.
  • Plant Biology
    1/5/24
    Faculty address diverse areas of plant biology. Their work investigates molecular regulation of the photosynthetic pathway in C4 plants, biosynthetic pathways of plant products that are important as pharmaceutics, growth in difficult or contaminated environments, evolutionary biology by combining state-of-the-art genomics with molecular analyses to understand plant origins and diversification.
  • Cell and Molecular
    11/28/23
    The Cell and Molecular faculty explore how genetic information is encoded in genomes and how it is interpreted to produce functional proteins. The research interests of the faculty focus on the regulation of transcription, translation, splicing, and post-translational modifications.
  • Ecology and Evolution
    8/9/24
    Faculty research concerns plant evolutionary biology; development and genomics; evolutionary biology; molecular phylogenetics and population genomics; chromatin and its impact on gene expression; genome stabilit; chromosome function; evolutionary genetics of aquatic invertebrates; and community and ecosystem ecology.
  • Neuroscience
    5/2/24
    The Neuroscience faculty explore signal transduction events during sensory perception, synaptic transmission, and disease. Specific areas of interest include hearing, taste, smell, and neurodegenerative disease. This group of researchers uses a wide array of techniques spanning the fields of electrophysiology, cell and developmental biology, microscopy and imaging, and molecular genetics.
  • Signaling
    11/28/23
    Signaling faculty study cellular communication and the intracellular pathways that regulate activity. These faculty use a wide range of model organisms and techniques to examine a diverse array of signaling pathways involved in hormonal regulation, sensory transduction, and cell growth and metabolism.
  • Genetics
    7/14/23
    Faculty in Genetics explore the molecular regulation of gene expression at various stages, including transcription, splicing, translation, and post translation modification. Our faculty also use molecular genetics approaches to study signaling, cell wall formation, protein trafficking, and neurobiology. Other faculty use population genetics approaches to identify the selective forces that act on genes.
  • Microbiology
    4/19/24
    Faculty study the ecology of microorganisms including how bacteria use phage-encoded toxins to evade protozoan predators, how the protozoan Tetrahymena uses chemosensation to find food, and how transcription termination regulates gene expression in Bacillus subtilis.  Other microbiology faculty study how filamentous fungi and budding yeast adapt to their environments.
  • Publications
    5/30/24
    The Department of Biological Sciences has a strong history of research going back to our founding. Faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduate students all contribute to our research mission. We work with scientific colleagues across the University and around the world. Our productivity speaks volumes about our commitment to research. Please refer to the profile pages for an updated listing of publications by each faculty member.
  • Animal Systems Biology
    8/23/23
    Faculty in Animal Systems Biology study complex physiological and developmental processes in model animals. These systems offer important experimental advantages in their accessibility, genetic resources, or amenability to specialized biochemical and molecular analysis. The systems used include rats and mice, zebrafish, the fruit fly Drosophila, and the nematode worm C. elegans. With modern tools and techniques, our faculty creatively explore key questions relating to sensory biology and neuronal processing, gene and protein expression in metabolic syndromes, and organismal integration through endocrine signaling.
See All

News and Notes

  • Faculty investigate coffee’s origin story
    6/4/24
    Published in Nature Genetics, researchers have created what they say is the highest-quality reference genome to date of the world’s most popular coffee species, Arabica, unearthing secrets about its lineage that span millennia and continents. Their findings, suggest that Coffea arabica developed more than 600,000 years ago in the forests of Ethiopia via natural mating between two other coffee species. The large international team was co-led by Victor Albert, Empire Innovation Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. Other contributors from the department include Trevor Krabbenhoft and Zhen Wang, both assistant professors of biological sciences; PhD student Steven Fleck; PhD graduate Minakshi Mukherjee; and former research scientist Tianying Lan. “Our work has not been unlike reconstructing the family tree of a very important family,” Albert says.
  • Wang Lab discovers key enzyme in foxglove
    7/19/23
    The Wang Lab's  breakthrough discovery, described in a paper published July 8 in Nature Communications, builds upon knowledge of the compounds, known as cardiac glycosides. It also could help speed up production of the plant-based drug, which is among the oldest medications used in the field of cariology, and help researchers create less toxic alternatives. Read the news.
  • Research led by Vincent Lynch uses gorilla genome as a discovery tool
    5/15/24
    In a study published in eLife, UB-led researchers identified 109 reproductive-related gorilla genes that are often mutated when present in infertile men. There are likely even more yet to be identified. “We have a set of genes that are involved in sperm biology and have the signatures of harmful mutations when in gorillas. We can then look at those same genes in infertile men and see if they have mutations,” says the study’s lead author, Vincent Lynch, associate professor of biological sciences, College of Arts and Sciences. “Here the gorilla genome essentially acts as a discovery tool for finding candidate genes for human male fertility that we previously wouldn’t have been able to identify.”
  • UB faculty collaborate on research that reveals a novel role for recessive subgenomes of the pitcher plant genome
    11/28/23
    “Our findings not only provide key insights into the adaptive landscape of the Nepenthes genome, but also broaden our understanding of how polyploidy — having multiple sets of chromosomes — can stimulate the evolution of new functions,” says Victor Albert, Empire Innovation Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences. He is co-senior author of the study, published in Nature Plants. Other contributors from UB include Charlotte Lindqvist, professor of biological sciences, and PhD students Emily Caroll and Michaela Richter. The work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation. Read article in UB Research News.
  • Sarah Chang and Robert Ditter win Art of Research competition
    4/25/24
    The Department of Biological Sciences is pleased to announce that Sarah Lu Chang and Robert Ditter have each won cash awards in the Art of Research. The competition took place April 16, 2024, in Hamlin Hall at the Buffalo Museum of Science. The event recognizes the extraordinary research of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars by showcasing original imagery inspired by the beauty inherent in research, scholarship and creative activities.
  • Shanna Snider wins 2024 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service
    6/4/24
    Shanna Snider has won the 2024 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service. The award honors professional staff performance excellence “both within and beyond the position.” Colleagues praise Snider’s time-management skills, which she uses to ready the labs so students can run multiple experiments on the same day, work with various model organisms and apply a range of advanced techniques. Read UB Now.
Department News

UB Biological Sciences News and Notes

Cambridge podcast: Gokuman on how human gene variations from millions of years ago can cause and prevent disease today
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