Department of Biology - School of Arts and Sciences

The Department of Biology offers students the opportunity to study the living world, from biomolecules to ecosystems. Knowledge of biology is critical for addressing current medical, environmental, and social issues in our rapidly changing world.

2018 Student Award Winners

Congratulations to the following student award winners:

Dickinson Award: Ruhin Farsin
Smart Award: McKenzie Murvin, Parr McQueen, Jack Scheutzow, Barbara Fujita

Biology Feature Stories

deSa Articles Biology professor Rafael O. deSa, with collaborators published Multiple connections between Amazonia and Atlantic Forest shaped phylogenetic and morphological diversity in the genus Chiasmocleis Mehely, 1904 (Anura: Microhylidae: Gastrophryne) in Molecular Phylogenetic and Evolution and A review of the Rivulidae (Cyprinodontiformes, Aplocheilodei) and molecular and morphological phylogeny of the annual fish genus Austrolebias in Neotropical Ichthyology

UR Faculty and Students Raise and Release Monarch Butterflies

As part of an international conservation effort to protect the declining monarch population, University of Richmond students have been raising, tagging, and releasing monarch butterflies.

Boland Article
Linda Boland, three students (Hannah Small '18, Harper Robinson '18, Aaron Corbin VCU '16 and UR-IIS Post-Bac Fellow '18), and an external collaborator have published a new paper, "A Xenopusoocyte model system to study action potentials" in the Journal of General Physiology.

Warrior care.Committed to serving the country after 9/11, Maj. Max Sirkin, '08, has developed a life-saving invention for the military. Read his story.

A matter of priorities.Photographer Jensen Sutta, '99, turns down well-paying assignments to support nonprofit work in Haiti. Read his story.

Boland Article
Biology professor Linda Boland, along with visiting research scholar Dick Dickens and Shriraj Patel, '18, published "Proteins mediating reception and transduction in chemosensory neurons in mosquitoes," in Frontiers in Physiology.

University of Richmond Faculty and Staff Rescue Tens of Thousands of Bees from Downed Tree Following Monday's Tornadoes

As a result of the storms across the region Sept. 17, a large tree filled with bees fell across Towana Road near the University of Richmond campus.

Lookingbill Named Distinguished Educator
Geography and biology professor Todd Lookingbill was named a 2018 University of Richmond Distinguished Educator.

Skromne Grant Biology professor Isaac Skromne has been awarded a National Science Foundation grant to support his research with zebrafish and bone disease.

University of Richmond URISE Program Recognized Nationally for Commitment to Underrepresented Groups in STEM Fields

University of Richmond’s URISE program has received the 2018 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education.

UR Biology Professor Isaac Skromne Awarded Second NSF Grant to Support Research Using Zebrafish to Tackle Disease

University of Richmond biology professor Isaac Skromne has been awarded a $200,000 National Science Foundation grant to support his research with zebrafish and bone disease.

Skromne Grant
Biology professor Isaac Skromne has been awarded a grant from The National Science Foundation for his project, "RUI: Elucidating the signaling interactions that control spinal cord fate specification."

UR Biology Professor Isaac Skromne Awarded $400,000 NSF Grant for Research on the Central Nervous System Using Zebrafish

University of Richmond biology professor Isaac Skromne has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for a project using zebrafish to explore the development and evolution of cells in the central nervous system.

Chelsea Eareckson, '19

Ever since her childhood on the beaches of the Jersey shore, Chelsea Eareckson, ’19, has loved the ocean. Today, as climate change threatens the fragile balance of many of the ocean’s ecosystems, Eareckson, a double major in leadership studies and biology, is on a mission to help restore the ocean and promote conservation.

Researching Global Ecosystems in AustraliaGeography professor Todd Lookingbill and his students traveled to Australia’s Outback and Great Barrier Reef for classes on biology, geography and conservation.

Resources

Gottwald Science Center

Biology Seminar Series

Library Research Guide

Integrated Inclusive Science Program

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

Office of Sustainability

Laboratory Incident Report Form

Contact Us

Mailing address:
Biology Department, Gottwald Science Center B-100
138 UR Drive
University of Richmond, VA 23173

Phone: (804) 289-8871
Fax: (804) 289-8233

Department Chair: Krista Stenger
Administrative Coordinator: Carol Esposito
Administrative Coordinator, Pre-Health and Integrative Science: Deatrice Cleaton