Biological Sciences Research

Department of Biological Sciences

Research in the Department of Biological Sciences includes the participation of faculty, staff, undergraduate students, and graduate students. Our research and teaching agendas include a balance of both cell/molecular and organismal/ecological activities. Those activities are conducted in dedicated laboratory spaces in Hubbard Hall and at a unique cohort of Field Station sites.

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Student standing in a water filled with fern, Salvania Molesta. The student is wearing waders and smiling at the camera.

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Student standing in front of a research poster, smiling at the camera.

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Student working in a biosafety cabinet. The student has her hair pulled back into a clip and is wearing a white lab coat.

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Studnet holding a large turtle by the back of its shell. The student is smiling at the camera.

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Faculty Research Agendas

Beck: Plant Systematics and Evolution.

Bousfield: Reproductive Endocrinology and Carbohydrate Chemistry.

Hendry: Cancer Biology and Molecular Endocrinology.

Houseman: Ecological Communities; Restoration of Plant Diversity; Invasive Species.

Jameson: Entomology and Biodiversity Science.

Logan: Developmental Systems Biology.

Luhring: Organismal Ecology in a Changing World.

McDonald: Molecular Genetics and Antimicrobial Strategies.

Russell: Plant and Animal Interactions.

Schneegurt: Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Shuai: Molecular Biology of Plants.

Yang: Orthopedic Research and Biomaterials.

Yao: Nerve/Spinal Cord Repair and Regeneration.

Grant Activity: 2018 – 2022

Proposals Submitted: 170
Proposals Awarded: 101
Total Funding: $24,011,973

-For 2022 alone, the support thereby provided for past or current student work through research and/or publication output included 45 undergraduate and 33 MS graduate students.

-Also note that the K-INBRE program (described in the top right panel) supports research faculty, students, and a range of infrastructure/equipment needs in the departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Biomedical Engineering.

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Some 2022 Grant Highlights

-George Bousfield: National Institutes of Health / National Institute on Aging; The Aging Pituitary/Gonadal Axis; $344,492.

-George Bousfield: GlycoFormA, Ltd; Development of FSH Glycoform Assay; $464,940.

-William Hendry: National Institutes of Health / Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (K-INBRE); Supports the WSU Undergraduate Coordinator Office, student scholars, and faculty mentors; $87,740.

-William Hendry: National Institutes of Health / K-INBRE Partnership for Translational Research Training Award; Developing a Human Patient “Avatar” System Particularly Relevant to Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer; $69,821.

-Gregory Houseman: United States Department of Agriculture; Grazing Intensity Assessment; $1,998,952.

-Gregory Houseman: National Science Foundation; Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems (MAPS) Mediating Sustainability for $428,792; and Interactive Effects of Exogenous and Endogenous Spatial Heterogeneity on Plant Diversity for $629,082.

-Thomas Luhring: National Science Foundation; Increasing Microbial Aquatic Sampling Capacity; $178,185.

-Thomas Luhring: Wild Animal Initiative; Integrating Individual-Level Juvenile Welfare in Dynamic Habitats Across Time and Space; $162,604.

-Mark Schneegurt: National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Responses of Microbial Isolates from Spacecraft Assembly Facilities to the Chemical and Physical Conditions of Mars and the Ocean Worlds; $377,068.

2022 Publications and Presentations

-34 Publications

-30 Presentations

Research / Teaching Field Station Sites

Beginning with the acquisition of the Ninnescah Reserve (330 acres) in 1984 by the WSU Foundation, our Field Station operation has impressively expanded as a place where research, teaching, and outreach is conducted on areas that are managed to be healthy, natural systems that were once common to the areas in which they are situated. In addition to the original Ninnescah Reserve, our Field Station sites now include the Sellers Reserve (22 acres), the Gerber Reserve (160 acres), and the Youngmeyer Ranch Reserve (4,700 acres).