Welcome to the UMass Biology Department

It is an exciting time to be a biologist, and a great time to study Biology at UMass. Over the last few decades biologists have provided profound new insights into the very mechanisms that account for species diversity on this planet, have contributed to our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that make life possible, and have greatly added to our ability to understand and treat human disease. The current rate of scientific discovery in the life sciences is unprecedented. But not to worry, as each new discovery leads to a host of new scientific questions, there are a multitude of important issues for the next generation of biologists to tackle. Our department combines cutting-edge Life Science research with a strong commitment to excellence in teaching, making UMass an exciting place to study biology...

Current News

Faculty Positions

The Biology Department has two Tenure Track Assistant Professor Positions available--one in Cellular Biology, a second in Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Evo/Devo). Review of applications will begin October 5.

New Department Chair

Welcome to Rolf Karlstrom who will be starting a three-year appointment as Chair of the Biology Department this fall.

Faculty Member Chairs Conference

Tom Zoeller recently chaired a one-day Endocrine Disrupting Chemical (EDC) conference hosted by the Endocrine Society and co-sponsored by the American Thyroid Association, the Society for the...

Welcome to Sheila Patek

Professor Sheila Patek is joining the Biology Department this fall as an Assistant Professor. Please join us in welcoming her to the department.

Faculty Member Receives Instrumentation Award

Tobias Baskin is the PI on a NSF Major Research Instrumentation award of $511,143 to acquire a state of the art high-resolution scanning electron microscope. Recently, the scanning electron microscope has been transformed into...

Instructor's Research Article Highlighted

Faculty Member Presents at International Conference

In early October Tom Zoeller was a presenter at an international symposium on "Hormones: Environmental Factors and Nosology of the Endocrine System", sponsored by the Hellenic Endocrine Society...

Congratulations to the 2009-2010 HHMI Academic Year Research Interns

The HHMI Undergraduate Science Program congratulates the following students for being selected to participate in the 2009-2010 Academic Year Research Internship Program. This year's recipients will receive a $1200 stipend and $500 for lab supplies to conduct independent research in the lab of their choice. This year's recipients represent a...

Faculty Member Serving on Department of Energy Working Group

Peg Riley has been invited by the Office of Science to serve on the Department of Energy's Working Group charged with "Creating the Long-term Strategic Vision for the Biological and Environmental Sciences at the DOE." She will specifically be focused on defining the characteristics of...

Massachusetts Academy of Science Activities

Peg Riley, as the Director of the Massachusetts Academy of Sciences, has just produced a report, based on a summit held at UMass Amherst last spring, entitled: The next steps in STEM education reform in Massachusetts. In...

Faculty Member Receives ARRA Funding from the NIH

Peg Riley's laboratory has been awarded 3 NIH supplemental funding requests from the President's ARRA program, totaling nearly $300,000 in direct costs. The purpose of the student supplement is to support 3...

Faculty Member Receives NSF ARRA Grant

Elsbeth Walker recently received a $400,000 two-year grant from NSF as part of the ARRA program.

The ultimate goal of this grant is a thorough understanding of the mechanisms by which...

Faculty Member Co-PI on NIH ARRA Grant

Faculty Member Spoke at Workshop

Tobias Baskin was invited to participate and speak in the Plant Growth and Biology and Modeling workshop, sponsored by Agron-Omics and the Center for Plant Integrative...

Faculty Member Receives USDA Grant

Elsbeth Walker has been awarded a one-year grant for $125,017 from the USDA to study iron uptake in plants.

Adequate iron uptake by crop plants is necessary for optimizing crop yields and for ensuring that edible crops contain adequate amounts of iron for...

Junior Fellowship Recipients for 2009-2010

Kudos to the following students who received Junior Fellowships this year: Sean Bickerton in Sankaran Thayumanavan's lab in the Chemistry Department; Danielle Cotter in ...