Department of Biology
The Department of Biology offers exceptional opportunities to learn, work, and collaborate across levels of biological organization and styles of research. Faculty research interests span the complete spectrum of biological phenomena and disciplines, from biochemistry to global environmental change. This breadth of research interests has led to development of three focused, yet overlapping, graduate training programs: Molecular, Cellular, and Evolutionary Biology (MCEB), Ecology Evolution and Organismal Biology (EEOB), and Microbial Biology.
News
PRINCESS ANNE GIVES AWARD TO UTAH BIOLOGIST
May 3, 2013 – For the second time in five years, the United Kingdom’s Princess 
Anne handed the prestigious Whitley Gold Award for conservation to Çağan Şekercioğlu. The University of Utah biologist gifted the princess with mulberry molasses and dried apricots from wetlands threatened by dam construction in his native Turkey. Şekercioğlu, 37, an ornithologist and conservation biologist, is the first person to win the Whitley Gold Award twice from the Whitley Fund for Nature. He previously won in 2008 while working at Stanford University. Şekercioğlu and seven winners of the 2013 Whitley Awards (the non-gold variety) accepted their honors Thursday night, May 2 during a ceremony at the Royal Geographic Society in London. See full story...
National Geographic Names U Faculty Risktaker
May 2013 - The 21st-century explorer can make good use of the latest 
technology; can communicate from almost anywhere on Earth, even atop Mount Everest; can solicit financial support from donors large and small. Yet the advantages of modernity cannot remove all risk from the act of exploration. This is a yearlong series profiling explorers who press the limits. Çağan Şekercioğlu is an ornithologist who works to document and prevent bird extinctions. He’s also a professor in the U.S. who runs an award-winning conservation group in his native Turkey. All those pursuits require juggling—and each entails big risks. See NG story... See SL Trib story...
U of UTAH HONORS FACULTY INVENTORS
April 22, 2013 — Faculty at the University of Utah make hundreds of inventions 
every year – everything from chemical processes and surgical devices to wheelchairs – but only the best researchers and inventors win the annual Distinguished Innovation and Impact Award. The award, now in its third year, is presented to exceptional faculty who have applied their research to serve the public through innovative new products. Winners of this year’s Distinguished Innovation and Impact Award are Dale Clayton, Ph.D., a professor of biology, and Ric Harnsberger, M.D., a professor of radiology. Their contributions are vastly different – Clayton invented a device for killing head lice, while Harnsberger is revolutionizing the world of medical publishing. But what they have in common is a passion to help others by applying and commercializing their research. See full story...
Conservation Leadership Award to U biologist
April 8, 2013 - Out of 305 applications from 22 countries, the project titled 
"Improving the Community-Based Conservation of Lake Kuyucuk Ramsar Site, Turkey" initiated in 2007 by Çağan Şekercioğlu and his students through KuzeyDoga has won the top prize given to young conservationists through the Conservation Leadership Programme. To apply for this award, an organization needs to get and successfully complete two other awards: Future Conservationist Award and Follow-up Award. Each project, with reporting and feedback takes a minimum of 2 years. "It took my team 5 years and 2 successful projects on Kuyucuk just to be able to apply".
WHAT DO BIRDS DO FOR US?
April 8, 2013 - With an estimated 1,200 species facing extinction over the next 
century, and many more suffering from severe habitat loss, the impulse to protect birds must be universal. Right? Well, if you happen to be a birder or a biologist, then “of course, birds have an intrinsic value, and we have an ethical obligation to conserve them,” says University of Utah ornithologist Çağan Şekercioğlu. “A lot of people want something more utilitarian,” he points out. If we want policy makers and the public to take conservation seriously, then perhaps we must offer credible research showing that healthy bird populations are essential to human welfare. See full Audubon story...
Taking Science to Prison
March 18, 2013 – The University of Utah is launching a project to teach 
prisoners about science and give them job training in recycling, organic gardening, composting and other skills. It is part of a trend toward environmental sustainability in prisons – the subject of a workshop at the university Wednesday, March 20 through Friday, March 22. Speakers will include Nalini Nadkarni, director of the U’s Center for Science and Mathematics Education, which is launching the Utah project. See full story...
Biology professor named Distinguished Professor
February 28, 2013 -
President Pershing announces the approval and 
affirmative recommendation by the Distinguished Professor selection committee that the following individuals be appointed Distinguished Professor at the University of Utah. Among the four selected was
Erik Jorgensen, Distinguished Professor of Biology.
The Distinguished Professor selection committee met on Feb. 11, 2013 to consider nominations received. The four nominees were selected by a majority vote from an outstanding pool of candidates. Congratulations to all! See full story...
