Biological Sciences 2009-2010
Overview
OUR APPROACH TO BIOLOGY
Biology at Union offers a diverse array of opportunities for an undergraduate. Compared to colleges of similar size, the diversity of our courses stands out. We offer a wide variety of courses in molecular biology, ecology and evolution, bioengineering and bioinformatics, and plant and animal organismal biology. This gives our students the opportunity to test their interests and aptitudes in many different areas of biology. We also offer the opportunity for interdisciplinary training with programs in Neuroscience, Biochemistry, Bioengineering and Environmental Science and Policy. Although we offer some advanced courses, we feel that graduate school is the time for specialization. Undergraduate years should be dedicated to the discovery and definition of goals and to gaining a broad-base education in relevant areas.
Faculty
Fifteen full-time faculty members (largest department on campus). Faculty members and their areas of research are:
Barbara Boyer
Professor of Biology
Ph.D., University of Michigan
Developmental biology, invertebrates
John Boyer
Professor of Biology
Ph.D., University of Chicago
Population biology
Quynh Chu-Lagraff
Associate Professor of Biology,
Ph.D., University of Illinois
Cellular neurobiology
Jeffrey Corbin
Assistant Professor of Biology
Ph.D., University of North Carolina
Plant ecology
Brian Cohen
Lecturer of Biology
Ph.D., Albany Medical College
Molecular endocrinology and biochemistry
Barbara Danowski
Associate Professor of Biology
Ph.D., University of North Carolina
Cell biology
Leo Fleishman
William D. Williams Professor of Biological Sciences
Ph.D., Cornell University
Animal physiology and behavior
Stephen Horton
Associate Professor of Biology
Ph.D., University of Toronto
Molecular genetics
Scott Kirkton
Assistant Professor of Biology
Ph.D., Arizona State University
Biomechanics and physiology
Robert Lauzon
Associate Professor of Biology
Ph.D., Queens University
Microbiology and Immunology
Kathleen LoGiudice
Associate Professor of Biology
Ph.D., Rutgers University
Ecology
Robert Olberg
Florence B. Sherwood Professor of Biology
Ph.D., University of Washington
Neurobiology
Barbara Pytel
Senior Lecturer of Biology
Ph.D., New York University
Herpetology
Steven Rice
Associate Professor of Biology
Ph.D., Duke University
Plant biology
Nicole Theodosiou
Assistant Professor of Biology
Ph.D., Yale University School of Medicine
Developmental Biology
Paul Willing
Senior Lecturer of Biology
Ph.D., University of Massachusetts
Plant physiology
In recent years, many of us have received outside funds to carry out research. In all cases, undergraduates were included in these research projects. In addition, the department received three prestigious HHMI grants in 1988, 1993, and 2004 (for $1.6 million), placing it among the top liberal arts science programs in the country. In collaboration with the Chemistry Department, in 2009 we received our third MERCK / AAAS Undergraduate Science Research Program Award to support undergraduate research in areas that bridge biology and chemistry.
Students
More than 250 majors; about 70 interdisciplinary majors, mostly neurosciences, biology-chemistry, and biology-mathematics; about 35 in the accelerated Leadership in Medicine/Health Systems Program with Albany Medical College.
Curriculum
Forty-seven courses — 39 for majors, eight in the General Education Program (non-major distribution requirements), and an elective Practicum in Hospital Health Care in one of three nearby hospitals.
Core Courses
Unless they receive advanced placement credit, all biology majors are required to take three basic core courses: Introductory Biology (two terms) and Molecular Biology of the Cell. Each is given at least twice a year to reduce class size and facilitate scheduling. All laboratories are taught by Ph.D.’s.
Upperclass Courses
Biology majors take at least seven more courses above the core. At Union there are a wide variety of courses in the areas of molecular biology, cell biology, immunology, neurobiology, animal behavior, botany, anatomy, ecology, biochemistry, and physiology. In these advanced courses, class size averages about 25, but some have fewer than 10 students. Most of these courses have a laboratory. Student research will also earn credit for the major and graduation.
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Most of our students carry out some kind of independent research under faculty supervision, ranging from one-term projects to three-term projects that usually culminate in an honors thesis. Almost all faculty members have research programs that include students during the year and, in some cases, over the summer. The College has a program of summer research fellowships, many of which are awarded to biology students for projects under faculty supervision. Many undergraduates attend national scientific meetings and some have published their research in scientific journals.
RESOURCES
The department is well-equipped for teaching and research. In addition to equipment typical of most active departments we have a laser confocal microscope, a bioengineering lab and machine shop, a tissue culture facility, gel-imaging workstations, portable photosynthesis analysis system, video-microscopy workstations equipped with digital image processing and microinjection capabilities, a monoclonal antibody lab, and state-of-the-art computer systems for data acquisition and analysis. Undergraduates have access to all of this equipment.
LIFE AFTER UNION
A large majority of our graduates go to some type of professional or graduate program, including medical and dental school, graduate programs in areas as diverse as agronomy and biochemistry, law school, and business school. In a recent survey of 89 colleges and universities that emphasize undergraduate research, Union ranked first in the number of graduates who went on to medical and dental schools. This study also showed that Union placed 12th in the number of students earning national honors. Many students get jobs related in some way to biology, while others are able to compete well for the typical positions available to all liberal arts college graduates (e.g., banking, management, sales, etc.). In the latter case, a biology degree is advantageous to students seeking jobs that require quantitative and analytical skills.