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.

Biology graduate featured as Women's Day Woman of Impact

Conservationist and National Geographic Explorer Laly Lichtenfeld began her work in East Africa as a Fulbright Scholar researching community-based conservation in 1996.

2019 Student Award Winners

Congratulations to the following student award winners:

Dickinson Award: Sofia Bustamante, Anthony Isenhour
Smart Award: Jasmine Feng, Katrina Kuhn, Jennifer Piciw, Jonathan Huang

Biology Feature Stories

de Sa Published
Dr. Rafael de Sa published "Presence and distribution of Leptodactylus guianensis Heyer and de Sá, 2011 in Colombia: comparisons with other species in the L. latrans group" in the Journal of Natural History.

UR Biology Professor Eugene Maurakis Awarded Grant for First-of-its-kind Research Project on Nest-Building Minnows in Virginia

University of Richmond professor Eugene G. Maurakis has been awarded funding from the Virginia Academy of Science for his research project on nest-building fishes in Virginia.

Science Meets Art in Exhibition on How Street Murals Can Beat the Heat; Recommendations Result of Faculty/Student Research

Science meets art in “See the Heat,” a new exhibition co-curated by University of Richmond senior Sarah Kwon, a biology major, and professor Eugene Maurakis, who teaches in the biology department and School of Professional & Continuing Studies.

University of Richmond Professor Todd Lookingbill Honored for Leadership in Landscape Ecology

University of Richmond’s Todd Lookingbill, associate professor of geography, environmental studies, and biology, has received the 2019 Distinguished Service Award by the U.S. Regional Association of the International Association for Landscape Ecology.

Dr. Amy Treonis wins Fulbright
Dr. Amy Treonis, Associate Professor of Biology, has received a Fulbright Scholar award for travel to Namibia. Her project, “Immortality and Fairy Circles: Nematode Ecology of the Namib Desert” explores nematodes, an understudied group of microscopic organisms ubiquitous to soils and sediments.

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University of Richmond Biology Professor Amy Treonis Awarded Fulbright for Teaching and Research on Soil Ecology in Namibia

Amy Treonis, an associate professor of biology, has received a Fulbright Scholar award to support ten months of teaching and research at the University of Namibia in Africa.

New Sabbatical Fellowship Program in the School of Arts & Sciences

Building Community in A&S

Gaithersburg Resident Awarded Competitive Gilman Scholarship to Study Abroad in Japan

Three University of Richmond students have received Gilman scholarships to support their study abroad experiences this spring and summer.

de Sá Article
Biology professor Rafael de Sá, with collaborators including Travis Cuddy, '14, published, "A molecular insight on the relationships of the poorly known genus Niceforonia Goin and Cochran, 1963 (Craugastoridae, Holoadeninae) in the journal Zootaxa.

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.

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