TCU Department of Biology

05/07/2026

05/01/2026

04/29/2026

TCU’s Quest to Save the Endangered Horned Lizard

In the latest Explained in 60 Seconds video, biology professor Dean Williams recaps the plight of the beloved “frog” and how TCU is working to save it.

14 likes, 1 comment. "Horned Frogs Explained in 60 with Dean Williams"

04/26/2026

McGillivray Lab: Katherine Richey (BS Biology, 2026) and Louise Hutchison (BS Neuroscience, May 2026) present their work at the Spring meeting of the Texas Branch of the American Society of Microbiology.

04/01/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Matt Hale on his promotion to Professor.

03/16/2026

Washington, D.C. — March 2026

Researchers from the Stewart Laboratory presented their latest scientific findings at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. The laboratory's work focuses on BRCA1, a critical tumor suppressor protein whose mutations are linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.

Three members of the laboratory — Dr. Mikaela Stewart, Meagan McMann (MS 2026, PhD 2029), and Jamison Speed (MS 2026) — each presented original research at the conference. Jamison's presentation examined how inherited mutations that disrupt protein-protein interactions can impair the ability of BRCA1 and its partner protein PALB2 to carry out DNA repair to prevent tumor development. Meagan's research focused on the model organism C. elegans. Her findings suggest that BRCA1's E3 ligase enzymatic function plays an essential role in both DNA repair and gene regulation. Dr. Stewart presented two projects. The first explored how small molecules can be used to interfere with the BRCA1/PALB2 protein interaction, mimicking the effect of hereditary mutations in patients whose breast cancer is not inherited. This approach could expand the range of available treatments for a broader population of patients. Her second presentation demonstrated the effectiveness of using a case study to teach empathy along with metabolic disease and cell signaling in the classroom. Coauthors of the presentations included Stewart Lab undergraduate students Madison Adams (Biology BS 2026), Styrling Murray (Biology BS 2026, Lucy McCollum (Biology BS 2025), and Nathalie Carlon (Biology BS 2025).

For more information about the Stewart Laboratory and its research, please contact [email protected].

11/11/2025

This is what leading on looks like! Louise Dilworth Davis ’77 just made one of the largest gifts in TCU history — $40 million to empower students, faculty and research in the newly renamed Louise Dilworth Davis College of Science & Engineering.

Texas Christian University’s second biggest college has a new name: the Louise Dilworth Davis College of Science & Engineering.

11/03/2025

Hale Lab Presents Research at the Evolution 2025 Meeting.

Mikay Reuter (PhD 2029), a member of Dr. Matt Hale’s lab, presented a talk titled “Using Genomics to Determine Origins and Dispersal Patterns of Invasive Northern Pike (Esox Lucius) in Southcentral Alaska” at the Evolution 2025 meeting in Athens, GA.

The research presented is being conducted in partnership with the Alaska Department of Fish & Wildlife and focuses on identifying genetic adaptations in invasive pike populations that increase dispersal capabilities. Because pike are aggressive predators that can have substantial adverse impacts on trout and salmon populations, fisheries managers aim to limit pike colonization of new lakes and rivers.

This research provides managers with novel tools for more effectively managing populations of invasive pike and the fish populations impacted by their presence.

10/13/2025

Hale Lab PhD students present research at Botany 2025 and conduct TCU-sponsored field and herbarium research.

Lucía Vargas (PhD 2028) received a travel award from the American Fern Society and funding from the TCU Biology Department to present their talk titled: “Phylogeny and Character Evolution in the Fern Clade Elaphoglossum sect. Lepidoglossa (Dryopteridaceae)”. Their research, co-advised by Dr. Alejandra Vasco (BRIT), gives new insights into the evolution, morphology, and distribution, of this group of ferns. Mavs Tamayo (PhD 2027) presented a talk titled “Taxonomic revision of the tropical blueberries (Vaccinium L., Ericaceae) of the Philippines.” His talk focused on the redescription and discovery of new species of Philippine blueberries. He also shared insights on his ongoing work on the phylogeny and biogeography of the Asian blueberries which focuses on inferring the relationships among the Asian blueberries. Mavs’ works are in part supported by research grants from the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, International Association for Plant Taxonomy, and the US-NSF funded project Plants and Lichen of the Southern Philippines Survey with Dr. Peter Fritsch (BRIT) as PI.

Lucía and Mavs also conducted field and herbarium research over the summer. As part of their SERC grant, Lucía travelled to Ecuador (May to June) in collaboration with the Catholic University of Quito and University of Vermont, to study fern herbarium specimens and collect new samples of Elaphoglossum in the Andes mountains. This new samples will be incorporated in their morphological and phylogenetic analysis. Mavs was awarded with a Harvard University Travel grant and a TCU Graduate Student travel grant, which he used to travel to the Harvard University Herbaria to annotate, study, and conduct destructive sampling of selected Asian blueberry specimens. He will be extracting DNA from these historical collections and incorporate it to his analysis.