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
A Grassy Trend in Human Ancestors’ Diets
June 3, 2013 – Most apes eat leaves and fruits from trees and shrubs. New 
studies spearheaded by the University of Utah show that human ancestors expanded their menu 3.5 million years ago, adding tropical grasses and sedges to an ape-like diet and setting the stage for our modern diet of grains, grasses, and meat and dairy from grazing animals. “At last, we have a look at 4 million years of the dietary evolution of humans and their ancestors,” says University of Utah geochemist Thure Cerling, principal author of two of the four new studies published online June 3 by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. See full story...
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".
