University of Puget Sound Biology Department

University of Puget Sound Biology Department Current students, alums, prospectives --please share your accomplishments, comments, and questions!

Congratulations to Biology Department alumni Seth Ack ’23 and Natalie Yates ’22 on earning Graduate Research Fellowship ...
05/07/2026

Congratulations to Biology Department alumni Seth Ack ’23 and Natalie Yates ’22 on earning Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) awards from the National Science Foundation.

The NSF GRFP is one of the nation’s most prestigious and competitive graduate fellowships, recognizing outstanding students not only for the strength of their research proposals, but also for their academic achievement, leadership, and potential for success in graduate study and scientific research.

We’re proud to see Seth and Natalie recognized for both their innovative ideas and the dedication they’ve shown throughout their academic journeys.

Seth is pursuing a PhD in Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Natalie is pursuing a PhD in Plant Pathology at the University of Georgia.

Learn more about the Graduate Research Fellowship Program here: https://www.nsfgrfp.org/

This semester, students in Animal Behavior, taught by Stacey Weiss, partnered with staff at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquariu...
05/06/2026

This semester, students in Animal Behavior, taught by Stacey Weiss, partnered with staff at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium to conduct behavioral research on animals in human care.

Through hands-on observation and data collection, students gained valuable experience in animal behavior research while contributing information that may help inform animal welfare and husbandry practices at the zoo.

This semester’s projects included:
• Impact of Enrichment on the Behavior of Spotted Eagle Rays

• Characterizing the behavior of Remy and Senya, a pair of captive Siamangs

• Characterizing baseline behaviors in three Sumatran tigers at PDZA

We’re proud of the students’ hard work, curiosity, and dedication throughout the semester, and grateful for the continued collaboration between University of Puget Sound and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium!

We’re proud to recognize our outstanding students from the Biology Department who were honored in the 2026 Writing Excel...
05/06/2026

We’re proud to recognize our outstanding students from the Biology Department who were honored in the 2026 Writing Excellence Awards, hosted by the Center for Writing & Learning.

🏆 Award Winner – Natural Sciences & Mathematics
Ashley Garman
“Assessing the impacts of forage fish availability on Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) abundance and foraging behavior in the South Salish Sea”
Written for BIOL 491 with Prof. Peter Hodum

👏 Honorable Mentions
Ashley Garman
“EO (2022)”
Written for ENVH 310 with Prof. Kristopher Imbrigotta (Arts & Humanities)

Ruby Gunter & Alex Gully
“Heat Adaptations in Solanum lycopersicum: Characterizing the role phytochrome B1 plays in hypocotyl elongation and thermomorphogenesis”
Written for BIOL 332 with Prof. Andreas Madlung (Natural Sciences & Mathematics)

These awards are funded by the Hearst Endowment for Writing, established through generous grants from the Hearst Foundation.

🔗 Learn more about the Writing Excellence Awards:
https://www.pugetsound.edu/center-writing-learning/writing-excellence-awards

Congratulations to all of our talented writers—we’re proud of your achievements!

As we wrap up another incredible year in Biology, we are so proud to celebrate the hard work, curiosity, leadership, and...
05/06/2026

As we wrap up another incredible year in Biology, we are so proud to celebrate the hard work, curiosity, leadership, and achievements of all of our students — especially our graduating seniors and this year’s award winners.

These students have represented dedication, perseverance, academic excellence, and a genuine passion for science both inside and outside the classroom. Watching them grow as learners, leaders, and people has been one of the greatest joys of the year.

Congratulations to all of our 2026 Biology award recipients and seniors! Your future is bright, and we cannot wait to see all the amazing things you accomplish next. Thank you for making this year so special! 🧬🔬🎓

The Department of Biology at the University of Puget Sound invites you to a reception honoring our graduating seniors an...
04/15/2026

The Department of Biology at the University of Puget Sound invites you to a reception honoring our graduating seniors and their families during commencement weekend.

Please join us on Saturday, May 9 from 9:30am - 11:30am in the Thompson/Harned Hall Brown Family Courtyard!

Join the Biology Department on Wednesday, April 29th at noon in the Thompson/Harned Hall Brown Family Courtyard for the ...
04/14/2026

Join the Biology Department on Wednesday, April 29th at noon in the Thompson/Harned Hall Brown Family Courtyard for the annual Awards Picnic!

Class of 2026 photo will be at 12:30pm

Biology Department Awards start at 1:15pm

All Biology students are welcome!

First Annual Biology Senior Thesis Showcase!Join us in Thompson 175 on April 27 & 28 from 4:00–6:00 PM for the first ann...
04/14/2026

First Annual Biology Senior Thesis Showcase!

Join us in Thompson 175 on April 27 & 28 from 4:00–6:00 PM for the first annual Biology Senior Thesis Showcase!

Senior biology majors will present their thesis research over two afternoons of talks.

Mon, April 27:
Ruby Gunter (4:00 PM)
Kipling Schnurr (5:00 PM)

Tues, April 28:
Gus Medley (4:00 PM)
Ashley Garman (5:00 PM)

Co-sponsored by the Biology Department and Phi Sigma Honors Society. Light refreshments provided!

The Phi Sigma Research Symposium is starting this Friday (4/10) at 5:00pm in TH 175 with the keynote speaker, Dr. Michae...
04/09/2026

The Phi Sigma Research Symposium is starting this Friday (4/10) at 5:00pm in TH 175 with the keynote speaker, Dr. Michael Metzger, talking about his research with transmissible cancer in clams!

At 9am on Saturday (4/11 in TH 175) we will have student research presentations with snacks included! Show up to support all the amazing student research that is happening in the biology department!

Student Research Presentation Schedule on Saturday, April 11:

9:00 am: Mikhail George “fbsQ: A Genetic Tool To Understand How Plants Grow”

9:15 am: Maia Connelly “Gap dynamics of bryophytes on nurse logs and the forest floor in the Hoh Rainforest”

9:30 am: Mira Bennett “Do F-BOX INTERACTING PROTEINS (FBIPs) regulate the plant cell cycle?”

BREAK 9:45 am - 10:00 am

10:00 am: Ashley Garman “Are there plenty of fish in the sea? Impacts of forage fish availability on Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus)”

10:15 am: Josie Cort “Protein-protein interactions in the plant circadian rhythm: investigating ELF4 and IAA interaction via fluorescent imaging”

10:30 am: John Luu “Uncovering the Role of Phytochrome B in Thermomorphogenesis”

🎓 Student Research Spotlight! 🌿🔬Earlier this month, two of our students—Grace Shirley and Alex Gully—presented their res...
01/14/2026

🎓 Student Research Spotlight! 🌿🔬

Earlier this month, two of our students—Grace Shirley and Alex Gully—presented their research at the SICB Annual Meeting (Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology) in Portland, OR.

Grace conducted her research at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, CO, working with a non-UPS faculty mentor, while Alex’s research was completed in collaboration with Stacey Weiss.

We’re proud to see their hard work shared with the broader scientific community!

👏 Join us in congratulating Grace and Alex on this exciting achievement.

Please join the Biology Department in welcoming Shelley Cook as our new Biology Storeroom Coordinator.Shelley is a Puget...
01/14/2026

Please join the Biology Department in welcoming Shelley Cook as our new Biology Storeroom Coordinator.

Shelley is a Puget Sound Biology alum (Class of 2005) who returns to the department after completing graduate work at Indiana University, where she studied lipid transport proteins in human red blood cells. More recently she, worked as an animal care technician with the City of Bloomington.

While at Puget Sound, Shelley swam for the Logger swim team and conducted undergraduate research in Alyce DeMarais’ lab. Outside of work, she and her dog, Penny Schmoo, can often be found exploring local spots (please share your favorite local shops and food/drink hidden gems)—or dock diving when the opportunity arises.

Shelley takes over the storeroom following Michal’s retirement. Feel free to stop by the stockroom or say hello when you see her.

Go Loggers! 🌲

Address

1500 N Warner Street, Stop 1088
Tacoma, WA
98416

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Website

https://linktr.ee/pugetsoundbiology

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