Department News

The Oxford Academic journal, Evolution, has published work by our undergraduate graduate, Pia Schwarz. The project started as her UB Honors thesis. Now, Schwarz is first-author of the article, 'Mosaic tri-lineage secondary contact shapes diverse genomic outcomes in darters'. As a student-athlete in our undergraduate program, Schwarz worked with Trevor Krabbenhoft, studying evolutionary genomics, speciation, and hybridization in North American stream fish. Currently, Schwarz is enrolled in the PhD Program at Yale.

In a university as large as UB, our students have the opportunity to make connections and build professional relationships from the moment they step on campus. With this in mind, every year the College of Arts and Sciences assembles a group of exceptional students to serve as College Ambassadors. Nominated by faculty and staff after demonstrating academic excellence and community engagement, ambassadores are available to provide insight, advice and information to current and prospective students, as well as their families.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.