Biology News Archive


  • Sophia Chilczuk nominated for Sports Star of the Year

    Jan 18, 2022

    Congratulations to Sophia Chilczuk (BS Applied Human Biology, 2021), who was nominated by the Seattle Sports Commission for the 87th Annual Sports Star of the Year Award in Women's Sports. In addition to graduating Summa Cum Laude with a BS in Applied Human Biology, Sophia was a star forward on the SPU women's soccer team. The Women's Sports category is one of three open for public vote, and voting is open until January 23. Awardees will be announced on May 26.

  • Dr. Janet Bester-Meredith publishes research paper with student co-authors

    Oct 27, 2021

    Dr. Janet Bester-Meredith, Associate Professor of Biology, and six undergraduate student researchers (all SPU alumni) just published their peer-reviewed article, “Blocking olfactory input alters aggression in male and female California mice (Peromyscus californicus)”, in the journal Aggressive Behavior https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.22004. The student co-authors are: Jennifer Burns (BS Physiology 2015), Ngan Dang (BS Physiology 2020), Alexandrea Garcia (BS Physiology 2014), Grace Mammarella (BS Physiology 2016), Melissa Rowe (BS Cellular & Molecular Biology 2015) and Christine Spatacean (BS Biochemistry 2020).

  • Applications to the BioCORE Scholars program now open

    Sep 22, 2021

    The Biology department is happy to announce that applications for the BioCORE Scholars program are now open. The application form is available online and should be completed by Oct. 28, 2021. Questions about the program may be directed to Dr. Elena Brezynski, program director, at brezynskie@spu.edu.

  • SPU alum receive their white coats in UW School of Medicine ceremonies

    Sep 4, 2021

    In ceremonies held at the University of Washington School of Medicine's Seattle, Spokane and Bozeman, Montana campuses, five SPU alum received their white coats, marking their matriculation into medical school. These students are: Samuel Black (BS Physiology 2019), Johren Carpenter (BS Biochemistry 2021), Ngan Dang (BS Physiology 2020), Emma Reisman (BS Physiology 2019) and Daniel Tolstrup (BS Physiology 2018). Samuel and Emma are pictured posing in their white coats. We are very proud of these five students, and know they will be a blessing to their future patients!

  • Environmental Physiology students take advantage of a natural laboratory

    Aug 21, 2021

    Students in Environmental Physiology (BIO 4256), taught by Dr. Cara Wall-Scheffler, kicked off the 2021-2022 academic year by taking advantage of diverse terrestrial and aquatic habitats available in the Seattle area. In this course, offered as part of SPU's September Session, students investigate how organisms balance acclimation and adaptation as they respond physiologically to their environments. Here, the students take a break from their experiments at Seahurst Park in Burien.

  • Rachel Johns leads coral recovery team in Florida Keys

    Jun 16, 2021

    SPU alumna Rachel Johns (BS Ecology, 2017), a coral biologist and lead of the Coral Response Team at Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys, was featured in a recent article in Keys Weekly. Following the discovery of an outbreak of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease, Rachel and her team immediately began to treat the affected coral, and continue to monitor the reef to prevent further spread.

  • Dr. Tracie Delgado and Shun-Je Bhark co-author review article

    Jun 4, 2021

    Dr. Tracie Delgado (Associate Professor of Biology) and Shun-Je Bhark (Biology Laboratory Coordinator and BS Cellular & Molecular Biology 2020) co-authored a review article with collaborators at San Francisco State University. The peer-reviewed article, "Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Infection of Neuronal and Non-Neuronal Cells Elicits Specific Innate Immune Responses and Immune Evasion Mechanisms", was published on May 31, 2021 in Frontiers in Immunology.

  • Panel of Biology faculty discuss COVID-19 and vaccines

    Jun 4, 2021

    Four SPU Biology faculty recently participated in a panel discussion about COVID-19 and vaccinations. Dr. Tracie Delgado (Associate Professor of Biology), Dr. Eric Long (Professor of Biology), Dr. Charlotte Pratt (Associate Professor of Biology) and Dr. Jenny Tenlen (Associate Professor and Co-Chair of Biology) discuss facts and common misconceptions about the COVID-19 vaccines. The faculty also explain their personal reasons for choosing to get vaccinated, particularly as Christians who have a duty to heed Jesus's command to "love thy neighbor". The recording of the panel discussion is available on YouTube.