Biology Department at Tennessee Tech

04/06/2026

87th Annual Meeting of Association of Southeastern Biologists (ASB)

The department of Biology had six graduate students and two undergraduates and three Biology faculty attend the Association for Southeastern Biologists meetings in Mobile, AL on March 25-28 to present our research. They also had a booth and provided information about their department to potential graduate students and others interested in our undergraduate programs. The Graduate School also provided materials for them to hand out to interested students.

04/01/2026

Congrats to our Tennessee Tech Student Chapter of The Wildlfe Society for a great showing at the recent Southeastern Wildlife Conclave at the University of Florida!

04/01/2026

03/13/2026

The Board of Trustees at Tennessee Tech approved a proposal for a new Ph.D. in integrative biology at its quarterly meeting on March 12. The program would be the university’s first doctoral offering in the Department of Biology and aims to launch this fall, pending final approval from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

According to the university’s written proposal, the new program “takes a systems-based approach to biological research, preparing scholars to address complex biological questions across multiple scales — spanning molecular, cellular, organismal and ecosystem levels.”

Read more: https://www.tntech.edu/news/releases/25-26/tech-board-approves-new-phd-in-integrative-biology.php

12/01/2025

Calling all Alumni - we need your help! Please complete the survey below. We are especially interested in students that have graduated between 2020 and 2025, but all are welcome to submit. The information you provide will be used to evaluate our educational programs as we work towards continued excellence! The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete, and we welcome all feedback.

Our goal is 200 responses in two weeks (by December 15). Please comment below once you have completed the survey so we can thank you!

UPDATE: We just hit 200 responses! Thank you all so much! Please keep submitting if you haven't already! Thanks so much for your contributions in helping us to better understand your successes after graduation.

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11/19/2025

Great job, Zoe!

TTU Biology student, Zoe Wills won best student presentation at the Tennessee Bat Working Group meeting for her presentation on eDNA metabarcoding in Cave and Karst systems.

10/14/2025

Daniel Lamar Combs: A Celebration of Life

Family and friends of Dan Combs will gather to celebrate his life on October 26th, 2025, at 11AM in Pennebaker Hall, Room 128, on the Tennessee Tech campus. Pennebaker Hall, located at 1100 N. Dixie Avenue in Cookeville, will be open at 10AM to welcome guests. Following the 11AM Celebration, refreshments will be served, and the building will remain open until 2PM. Guest are encouraged to stay, eat, fellowship, and share their favorite stories about Dan.

10/03/2025

It's with deep sorrow that we share with you that our dear friend Dr. Dan Combs passed away earlier this week. The profound impact Dr. Combs had on students and peers alike over his 36 years in this department cannot be overstated, and we know this loss is not ours alone. His tremendous knowledge of and passion for the natural world were gifts he readily shared all over the globe, and his legacy will certainly live on through the passion he instilled in others. We were all truly lucky to have known him.

We currently do not have information to share about arrangements or services, but we invite you to share your memories here and post any photos of Dr. Combs that we may share in the department and with his family.

08/15/2025

Tennessee Tech alumna (B.S. Biology, B.S. Chemistry 2015) Dr. Rosa Vásquez Espinoza is no stranger to the Amazon rainforest. She grew up with the Peruvian Amazon as her back yard and learned its lessons from her grandmother, a native healer in natural medicine and Rosa’s greatest inspiration. Feeing pulled back to the heart of the Amazon upon completion of her classical science education in the US, the chemical biologist returned to Peru and continued to explore the region, utilizing a unique blend of scientific inquiry and cultural insight to guide her. In 2021, she founded Amazon Research Internacional, a Peru-based non-profit dedicated to restoring and preserving the rainforest’s fragile biodiversity while empowering native communities.

Named one of Forbes 50 Most Powerful Women in Peru in 2025, Dr. Espinoza’s passion and talent for combining modern science with indigenous knowledge is evident. Dr. Espinoza’s achievements and adventures have provided an impressive foundation for her latest success: the publication of her debut literary title Spirit of the Rainforest: How Indigenous Wisdom and Scientific Curiosity Reconnects Us to the Natural World.

In The Spirit of the Rainforest, Dr. Espinoza provides firsthand accounts of her journeys in the Amazon Rainforest: treacherous encounters with a boiling river, conservation work with stingless bees, and the invaluable teachings of the indigenous communities that she visits. The book was just released to US audiences at the end of July and is available at Barnes and Noble, Target, and through online retailers.

Links:
https://www.amazonresearch.org/ (Amazon Research Internacional)
https://www.rosavespinoza.com/ (Dr. Espinoza's website)
https://www.tntech.edu/news/releases/24-25/tech-honors-alum-national-geographic-explorer-discusses-mission-to-preserve-amazon-jungle.php (March 2024 TN Tech article, Jonathan Frank)