Biology

Academic Programs

Students majoring in Biology choose one or more of the following areas for an academic emphasis:

  • General Biology,
  • Human Biology,
  • Molecular Biology,
  • Ecology and Field Biology,
  • Conservation and Wildlife Management (Interdisciplinary program with Agriculture),
  • Biology Education (taken as a double major with Secondary Education).

Faculty

Gabriela Galey
Anatomy & Physiology
Assistant Professor of Biology
ggaley@cofo.edu

Robert Snyder
Conservation and Wildlife Management
Associate Professor of Biology & Henry Robert Herold Chair of Biological Science
snyder@cofo.edu

Jeff Rettig
Botany
Professor of Biology & Joe T. McKibben Chair of Biological Science
rettig@cofo.edu

Careers in Biology

A Biology degree from C of O can be the beginning of a great career in biology.

Click on the following national science organizations to learn about careers in biology:

The American Institute of Biological Sciences

Society for Industrial Microbiology

U.S. Department of Labor - Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Botanical Society of America

Smithsonian National Zoological Park

American Society for Microbiology

Entomological Society of America

Association of Zoos and Aquariums

The Wildlife Society

Smithsonian National Zoological Park (Wildlife Biology careers)

Facilities

  • DNA sequencer and PCR thermocycler,
  • Fluorescence microscope,
  • Animal tissue culture equipment,
  • Ecological toxicology laboratory,
  • Invertebrate, vertebrate and plant (herbarium) collections,
  • Wildlife radio telemetry tracking equipment,
  • Backpack stream electroshocker,
  • Wildlife areas:  22 acre glade, Lake Taneycomo shoreline, over 600 acres for wildlife research.

Research

Science is a process, not a body of facts.  For that reason, undergraduate research is a capstone experience for biology majors. The Biology faculty maintain their research programs for the purpose of providing junior and senior students crucial research experiences that will prepare them for employment  and professional and graduate schools. 

The Biology Research Sequence:

  1. Research I (BIO 352).  Spring of junior year.  The proposal is developed and research begins.
  2. Research II (BIO 442).  Fall of Senior year.  Research continues.
  3. Research III (BIO 452).  Spring of senior year.  Research is completed, results are presented orally (usually at the Missouri Academy of Science meeting in April) and as posters.

Thirteen biology majors attended the annual spring meeting of Missouri Academy of Science at Lincoln University in Jefferson City on April 15, 2011.  Five Research III presented their results.

  • Hannah Duke.  Zinc’s Effect on Stress Induced Mature T-Lymphocyte Apoptosis.  (Tied 3rd Place – Biology Section II)
  • Richard Forster.  The Genetic Relations of Gammarus pseudolimnaeus (Crustacea, Amphipoda): Possible Glacial Influences.  (2nd Place – Biology Section II)
  • Jasmine Long.  Pollination and Reproductive Efforts of Yucca arkansana (Agavaceae).
  • Kathleen Payne.  Analysis of Buck:Doe Ratios in White-Tail Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) Using Infrared Game Cameras.  (1st Place – Biology Section I)
  • Antonio Ziherl.  The Effect of Elevated Stress Hormones on MCMV Infectivity Rates.

Departmental Activities and News

Happenings

 

Thirteen students in Research I & Research III attended the 2011 Missouri Academy of Science annual meeting at Lincoln University in Jefferson City. Five students presented their research.
 

The Biology Club-sponsored Stream Team cleaned up two truckloads of litter and debris from a section of Roark Creek in celebration of Earth Day.

   		 

  Alumni News

Teresa Brueggen (B.S. Biology, 2009) is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Arkansas State University in the Ecotoxicology Program.

Carolyn Bowden Green (B.S. Biology, 2008) is in M.S.U.'s Physician Assistant Program.

Shelley Theobald (B.S. Biology, 2007) is currently attending the Ben Gurion Medical School in Israel.

Justin Atherton (B.S. Biology, 2007) is currently pursuing a doctorate degree at Southern College of Optometry in Memphis.

Jason Comer (B.S. Biology, 2007) has finished his Master’s degree at Missouri State University (An assessment of genetic variation within Missouri populations of Asclepias meadii Torr. ex Grey (Apocynaceae) and a comparison with three widespread Asclepias species).  He is currently in a Ph.D. program at the University of Georgia, Athens, in the Plant Biology department.

David Holland (B.S. Biology, 2006) is currently attending Medical School at the University of Missouri, Columbia.

Kate Jackson (B.S. Biology, 2006) is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in Veterinary Medicine at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Australia.

Matthew Seabert (B.S. Biology, 2005) was promoted to Forensic Scientist, Forensic Biology (DNA) section, city of Phoenix Police Department Crime Laboratory.