News


Tue, 10/08/2024

$1.5M grant will create global macro-network of plant-fungal research

A new project led by the University of Kansas will bring together scientists throughout the world who study the interactions between plants and microscopic fungi. A $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation will support the creation of a global transdisciplinary network to address the grand challenges within the realm of plant-fungal interactions.
Wed, 10/02/2024

KU Biology: Inside the Lab with Dr. Jamie Walter

Video: Take an inside look into Dr. Jamie Walter's evolutionary genomics Lab at KU!
Tue, 10/01/2024

19 KU students receive Undergraduate Research Awards for fall

KU's Undergraduate Research Award recipients are awarded a $1,000 scholarship as they work on mentored research and creative projects. Nineteen Jayhawks received an award for fall 2024.
Wed, 09/25/2024

Research shows Asia — not Africa — played cradle to snake superfamily that includes cobras, mambas and many common pet species

Based on the fossil record, it’s been assumed that elapoid snakes, found worldwide, had their origins in Africa. But the new University of Kansas study appearing in Royal Society Open Science — which depends on broad genetic sampling as well as fossils — points instead to Asian origins for these snakes.
Mon, 09/23/2024

KU faculty providing authentic research lab experience in classroom

A new grant of $15,000 from NIH and K-INBRE will expand opportunities for students to have authentic research lab experiences in the classroom. Faculty member Eileen Hotze’s CURE is setting the stage for further implementation in other classrooms.
Tue, 09/17/2024

University Distinguished Professor to explore how today’s ecosystems can help predict Earth’s future in inaugural lecture

University Distinguished Professor Sharon Billings will deliver “Predicting Ecosystems of the Future with the Forests and Grasslands of Today” on Oct. 1 in the Beren Petroleum Conference Center of Slawson Hall G192.
Thu, 09/05/2024

KU leading multi-institutional program to support undergraduate STEM research and student retention

The University of Kansas, in collaboration with five other regional higher education institutions, has been awarded a five-year, $3.5 million National Science Foundation Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation grant. The award will establish the Aligning STEM Trainees for Enterprising Research (ASTER) program and fund undergraduate research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Wed, 09/04/2024

New book ‘Macroevolutionaries’ explores intersection of evolution, art and popular culture

University of Kansas paleontologist Bruce Lieberman co-wrote “Macroevolutionaries,” a collection of natural history essays, with fellow paleontologist Niles Eldredge in the tradition of their late Harvard mentor and famed science popularizer, Stephen Jay Gould.
Thu, 08/29/2024

KU researcher Victor Gonzalez receives two NSF grants to advance research on bees

The National Science Foundation has awarded two grants totaling more than $600,000 to a team led by University of Kansas scientists studying bees in North America and plant pollinators in tropical regions.
Wed, 08/28/2024

Undergraduate Biology Welcomes Incoming Students

The 2024/2025 Academic year started on a high note on August 25, 2024, with the third annual Biology Welcome Event.
Mon, 08/26/2024

Electrocuting spores, for science

Biological sciences major Kit Savoy knows that if humans are going to thrive in space, they’ll need microbes. 🦠 And since wind and animals are hard to come by in outer space, Savoy built a parallel plate capacitor to see whether electric fields can disperse fungal spores instead. It’s mycology plus astrobiology, with a dash of physics thrown in for good measure. Rock Chalk, Kit!
Wed, 08/14/2024

Rare Corpse Flower Blooms in KU Greenhouse

An endangered Flower bloomed at the University of Kansas Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Greenhouse in Haworth Hall.
Thu, 07/25/2024

Grant Awarded to Discover Aging Genes

Stuart Macdonald received a new NIH National Institute on Aging award to execute large-scale studies to identify genes contributing to lifespan variation in fruit flies
Fri, 07/19/2024

UNDERGRADUATE BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES SPRING 2024 AWARDS & SCHOLARSHIPS

The Undergraduate Biology Department formally recognized the award-winning graduating seniors in its annual Biology Recognition Ceremony on May 11, 2024. The department distributed more than $43,000 in awards and scholarships to students.
Mon, 06/10/2024

Ten KU students receive Undergraduate Research Awards for summer

This summer, ten University of Kansas students received an Undergraduate Research Award (UGRA). UGRA recipients are awarded a $1,000 scholarship for their work on mentored research and creative projects.
Mon, 06/10/2024

Undergraduate Biology Student Researcher: Alexa Magstadt

"Alexa Magstadt is studying Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology with a minor in Spanish. She is part of the Chancellors Club Scholar, a BioScholar & a Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Dixon Lab."
Fri, 06/07/2024

KU researcher Rafe Brown receives Fulbright Award to the Philippines

Rafe Brown, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to travel to the Philippines to study biodiversity. Brown will spend a year in the Philippines conducting fieldwork to sample amphibians and reptiles. The research studies the biodiversity of a rare stretch of pristine tropical forest that extends from a volcanic peak to the sea.
Tue, 05/28/2024

Undergraduate Biology Student Researcher: Kaitlyn Savoy

Kaitlyn 'Kit' Savoy Is a junior biology major who is also minoring in chemistry & theater. She currently works in the Ben Sikes Lab & won the 2024 Goldwater Scholarship
Tue, 05/21/2024

New study on bees’ physiological response to extreme temperatures.

A recent University of Kansas study revealed that bees have limited capacity to enhance their heat tolerance via acclimation or prior heat exposure making them vulnerable to climate change.
Tue, 05/14/2024

KU faculty researchers inspire the next generation of innovative thinkers

In the spring 2024 issue of KU Giving magazine, Jocelyn Colella, KU faculty member and curator of mammalogy at the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum, discusses the benefits of offering “full stack” biology experiences to students seeking careers in biological science. The Colella Lab combines elements of museum collections with molecular biology, fieldwork and computer science to help students develop career-relevant skill sets.
Tue, 05/07/2024

Undergraduate Biology Student Researcher: Laiba Ashraf

Laiba Ashraf is a Senior studying Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and is pursuing a double minor in business administration and chemistry.
Thu, 05/02/2024

KU recognizes 14 students with 2024 University Awards

The University Awards, among the most prestigious awards presented at KU, were established to recognize students who embody service excellence, dedication or whose academic achievements are stellar.
Tue, 04/30/2024

Researchers parse oddity of distantly related bats in Solomon Islands that appear identical

A study of body size in leaf-nosed bats of the Solomon Islands that involved evolutionary biologists from the University of Kansas — who collected specimens, conducted genetic analysis and co-wrote research in the journal Evolution — reveals surprising genetic diversity among nearly indistinguishable species on different islands.
Tue, 04/30/2024

KU celebrates undergraduate research at annual symposium

More than 130 undergraduate students participated in the 27th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium this year. The symposium took place online April 15-19, and volunteer judges selected 28 individual presentations and three group presentations to receive Outstanding Presentation Awards.
Thu, 04/25/2024

Study reports new compound halting replication of COVID by targeting ‘Mac-1’ protein in cell models

Research from the University of Kansas shows for the first time SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, can be inhibited from replicating in living cell cultures using a compound that targets “Mac-1,” a protein key to defending SARS-CoV-2 against the human immune response.
Fri, 04/19/2024

Undergraduate Biology Student Researcher: Kamar Chahine

Kamar Chahine is a senior majoring in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and works in Dr. Kristi Neufeld’s lab. She is a chemistry minor and a University Honors student.
Mon, 04/08/2024

KU, Haskell students to present research projects at 24th annual symposium

Research on heat shock stress in colorectal cancer, wetland restoration practices’ impact on soil, neurodegeneration of Alzheimer’s disease and other topics will be among the work presented at the 24th annual University of Kansas-Haskell Indian Nations University Student Research Symposium. The event will take place April 12 at Haskell.
Fri, 04/05/2024

Two KU juniors named 2024 Goldwater Scholars

Juniors Cecilia Paranjothi of Lawrence and Kaitlyn (Kit) Savoy of Olathe are the 78th and 79th KU undergraduates to be given a Goldwater scholarship since they first were awarded in 1989. Paranjothi is majoring in chemistry, and Savory is majoring in biological sciences and minoring in chemistry and theatre.
Tue, 04/02/2024

Undergraduate Biology Student Researcher: Kate Rosa

Meet Kate Rosa, a junior majoring in Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology, who has been working in Dr. Orozco’s Lab studying viruses.
Thu, 03/28/2024

KU Research GO boosts a dozen projects across disciplines

Twelve projects have been selected for funding through KU’s 2024 Research Grant Opportunity program. Recipients represent STEM, social science, humanities and arts fields in departments and research centers across the university.

Media Contacts

Maria Losito

Undergraduate Biology