Department of Biological Sciences

Undergraduate Research

The faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences are committed to engaging undergraduate students in authentic, hands-on research.

We encourage our undergraduate students, especially those who are thinking of graduate school, medical school or other health-related professional school, to consider conducting undergraduate research with one of our faculty members.

Please review our faculty's areas of research and reach out to those faculty who align with your interest for any research opportunities available in their lab. (It is important to consult with the professor as early as possible.)

For any additional questions, please reach out to the Director of Undergraduate Research Experience in the Department of Biological Sciences, Dr. Heather Conti

Meet one of our student researchers, Nicholas Huss:

 

Our Students in their own words:

Eanas Abutaha, '20, B.S. in Biology, Pre-dentistry concentration:
"I studied the virulence of Candida albicans and Staphylococcus during oral candidiasis. Despite improvements in antimicrobial treatments, polymicrobial infections remain a severe complication for immunocompromised patients. As of now, I am determining if a potential therapeutic of inhibiting IL-23 can be found in radiotherapy induced oral mucositis."

Allison Grim, '20, B.S. in Biology, Pre-medical concentration:
"By being in an undergraduate research lab, I learned that conducting research is actually a lot harder than one would think. You have to be able to accept any experimental failures or oversights to adapt and continue on with the project. I have also learned to better think critically and apply my knowledge from my biology courses to my research projects. Overall, the hands-on aspect of research is incredibly rewarding!"

Michaelangelo (Mike) Zullo, '19, B.S. in Biology, Pre-medical concentration:
"My research was in bio-organic chemistry discovering a new and more simplistic route for the synthesis of molecular cross linkers. These molecular are used to form a covalently bonded bridge between an enzyme's active site and an anti microbial compound so that the targeted protein can be extracted for examination. This allows for elucidation of the method of action of the compound in question. Combining multiple reported synthetic routes, while incorporating a couple steps of our own, we were able to reduce what is normally a 10-13 steps synthesis into only 5 steps."

Last Updated: 6/27/22