Department News

North Campus in Fall Photographer: Douglas Levere.

On this page we feature recent news stories and announcements about the noteworthy achievements of our faculty, staff and students. Also see highlights of past news, here.

Spotlight

Faculty News and Notes

  • Research from the Gunawardena Lab finds opposing roles for two signaling proteins in Huntington's disease
    5/7/25
    A decade ago, UB researchers shed some light on an enduring neuroscience mystery: How exactly does a mutated huntingtin protein (HTT) cause Huntington’s disease? Now, the researchers have learned more about what can control the traffic-controlling HTT. The co-authors – all from UB – include: Rasika Rathnayake, a biological sciences PhD student; Gary Iacobucci, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; BS graduates Jia Zeng and Jing Zheng; and associate professors of biological sciences, Shermali Gunawardena, PhD, and Michael C. Yu, PhD. Learn more via UB News.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • NYT features Gokcumen's study on how humans evolved to eat starch
    12/11/24
    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
    5/22/25
    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.
  • 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
  • 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.
National News Spotlight

"It is not a dire wolf; it is a gray wolf clone with some mutations that make it superficially resemble a dire wolf."

NPR quotes Vincent Lynch, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, in an article about three bioengineered “dire wolves” created by a biotech company.

Student News and Notes

  • Noor Ismail wins SUNY Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence
    6/11/25
    Congratulations to Noor Ismail on being named recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, the highest honor SUNY bestows upon its undergraduates numbering over 328,000. Ismail graduates with a BS in biological sciences and business administration, with a concentration in international business.
  • Jasmin Gill, 2025 UB Outstanding Senior
    5/22/25
    Congratulations to Jasmin Gill on being named 2025 Outstanding Senior.  Jasmine, also a recent Student Ambassador, states: "Having been able to TA for several classes in the Biological Sciences department, I have been able to fully appreciate how dedicated our professors are to student success, and how we are very much a learning community made of esteemed experts and students!" The CAS award ceremony was presented at a special pre-graduation reception.
  • Fellowship Awardees 2024
    4/20/22
    Our students win fellowships. The Department of Biological Sciences is pleased to announce the winners of the 2024 Undergraduate Fellowship Awards, made possible by generous alumni and friends who establish endowments aimed at enhancing the educational experiences of our students.
  • 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.
  • Alber Aqil wins $1,000. in Three-Minute Thesis competition
    6/30/25
    BIO PhD student Alber Aqil's presentation, “Echoes from the Past", earned third place in UB's Three Minute Thesis competition of 2024. 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.
  • Christopher Osborne, PhD student, wins 2023 SUNY GREAT Award
    4/21/23
    The UB Department of Biological Sciences is pleased to announce that Christopher Allen Osborne, PhD candidate, has won the 2023 SUNY Graduate Research Empowering and Accelerating Talent (GREAT) Award. Osborne is among 33 SUNY students selected as recipients of the awards recognizing outstanding students who are conducting innovative research tackling some of society’s most pressing issues. Osborne receives $5,000 in flexible funding for research expenses, professional development and stipend supplements. 
  • Emily Mehle wins UB Graduate School’s 2023 Excellence in Teaching Award
    3/30/23
    The Department of Biological Sciences is pleased to announce that Emily Mehle has won the UB Graduate School’s Excellence in Teaching Award for the year 2023. This prestigious award recognizes the skill and dedication of graduate students as a teacher. Emily is currently a PhD candidate in the lab of Dr. Denise Ferkey and was nominated for the award by Dr. Nitasha Sehgal, Clinical Assistant Professor.
  • 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.
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Also see Past News and Notes