Department of Biological Sciences

NYT features Gokcumen's study on how humans evolved to eat starch

The New York times features the work of Dr. Omer Gokcumen in an article by Carl Zimmer, How Early Humans Evolved to Eat Starch. Zimmer reports on two new studies that reveal how our ancestors began carrying more amylase genes in two major waves: the first one several hundred thousand years ago, possibly as a result of humans starting to cook with fire, and the second after the agricultural revolution 12,000 years ago. “This combination of adapting to diverse environments and modifying our diets is a core tenet of what makes us human,” said Omer Gokcumen, a geneticist at the University at Buffalo who led one of the studies. Read UB Now Research News.

FOXG1 Research Center's opening celebration

10/28/24

The FOXG1 Research Center (FRC) opened on September 26, 2024. Soo-Kyung Lee, director of the FRC and the parent of a child with FOXG1 syndrome, spoke to the crowd gathered to celebrate the center’s official opening: “Love for every individual living with FOXG1 syndrome and other neurodevelopmental disorders, as well as their caregivers, and hope that we can find a cure for FOXG1 syndrome and related disorders on the basis of scientific discoveries we are making.” Read the full story from UB News.

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.

3/19/24 We invite you to apply to the program

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.

4/12/21 Learn more about our research

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SPRING 2025 Events

SEMINAR SERIES
Thursday, 3:45 p.m.
O’Brian 109, UB North Campus

3/27/25
Victor Albert, UB Biological Sciences
Roles of genomic "structural variants" in plant evolution

4/3/25
Graduate Research Showcase:
Liwen Li and Roxana Gonzalez

4/10/25
Jennifer Houtz, Allegheny College

4/17/25
Mattheos Koffas
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Engineering the production of animal-free animal natural products

5/1/25
Genevieve Konopka University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center

Also see UB Calendars:

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News and Notes

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Gokcumen receives Meyerson Award for Undergraduate Mentoring
3/14/25
The Department of Biological Sciences is pleased to announce that Professor Omer Gokcumen is the recipient of the President Emeritus and Mrs. Meyerson Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring for 2025. Dr. Gokcumen, a faculty member since 2013, was acknowledged for having "consistently been a shining light of undergraduate mentorship" in the department. A common remark among his mentees was the “warm energy of the lab” that made students feel "part of his team”. He was also noted for "fostering critical thinking, interdisciplinary collaboration, [and] inclusivity”. The award was presented to Dr. Gokcumen, March 12, 2025, at the UB Mentoring Awards Breakfast.
Soo-Kyung Lee named honoree of 2025 Spotlight Symposia Series
2/17/25
Soo-Kyung Lee has been named the honoree of the 2025 Spotlight Symposia Series. The College of Arts and Sciences Spotlight Symposia Series recognizes and elevates faculty members. The event honors a particular faculty member by inviting distinguished speakers to our campus who share the honoree’s research field. As the 2025 symposium honoree, Soo-Kyung Lee will be at the center of vital national and international conversations. The event is an important venue for building scholarly relationships critical to the university.
Lindqvist collaborates with Wrangell Cooperative Association to repatriate 3,000-year-old human remains
1/9/25
Charlotte Lindqvist found herself tasked with transporting 3,000-year-old human remains across the Alaskan panhandle to their final resting place. The repatriated the individual is known as Tatóok yík yées sháawat (Young Lady in Cave) to her distant descendants, the Tlingit people of southeastern Alaska. “As a biologist, you want to hold onto any ancient DNA samples in case you can possibly learn more from them in the future. However, these remains meant something to this community and returning them was the right thing to do,” Lindqvist says. “And I felt that it was very important to bring it there personally.” Read Research News.
Shanna Snider wins 2024 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service
10/8/24
Shanna Snider has won the 2024 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service. Snider will be presented the award on October 24, 2024 at UB's Celebration of Academic Excellence. 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.
Research led by Vincent Lynch uses gorilla genome as a discovery tool
10/18/24
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.” Related Podcast, Driven to Discover: Animal Genes and Human Health with Vincent Lynch
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.

Department News

Faculty Research

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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

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Student and Alumni News

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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.
Fellowship Awardees 2024
4/20/22
Our students win fellowships. The Department of Biological Sciences is pleased to announce the winners of this year's Undergraduate Fellowship Awards. The fellowships aim to provide financial support for our students entering their senior year. The awards are made possible by generous alumni and friends who establish endowments for academic programs aimed at enhancing the educational experiences of our students.
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.