Department of Biological Sciences

Biological Sciences: The wonder and complexity of life on Earth. The beauty of DNA structure and function, the intricate communication between cells, tissues and organs, the exquisite nature of living organisms and how they interact with and create our environment. We study the structure, function, development, origin, evolution and diversity of living organisms from molecules to ecosystems to better understand the world we live in. Discover our research and study programs!

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Latest News

Dr. Alissa Armstrong featured in Cell!

A great testimony that raises awareness on diversity in academia and prompts us to move forward differently. Check it out here!

Alissa Armstrong profile picture

Congratulations to Dr. Andy Schumpert

Dr. Andy Schumpert was awarded a Garnet Apple Award! The Garnet Apple Award honors exceptional faculty who demonstrate an ongoing commitment to best teaching practices and a record of developing innovative strategies to enhance learning. Find out more here!

Congratulations to the Twiss lab

The Twiss lab just published a new study in Current Biology that describes the mechanisms by which casein kinase 2a triggers stress granule disassembly in injured axons. This really impressive work has important implications for promoting faster nerve repair and has been highlighted here!

Congratulations to the Ely lab

The Ely lab recently published four articles on Caulobacter bateriophages! The first article published in Archives of Virology describes three new Caulobacter bacteriophages and demonstrates the genetic diversity of the podovirus genus Rauchvirus. The second article, also published in Archives of Virology, compares the structural proteins associated with two genomically diverse but morphologically similar bacteriophages. The third article published in Plos One analyzes the horizontal transfer of genetic material and gene replacement during that process. Finally, the last article published in Plant and Soil analyzes the interactions between several Caulobacter strains and a common host plant. Amazing work!

Congratulations to the Patel lab

The Patel lab just published an article on the molecular mechanisms underlying dystonia-16 in Neurobiology of Disease. The artile entitled "Dystonia 16 (DYT16) mutations in PACT cause dysregulated PKR activation and eIF2α signaling leading to a compromised stress response" can be found here!

Congratulations to Dr. Andy Schumpert

Dr. Andy Schumpert was awarded a Distinguished Course Award from the Association for Distance Education and Independent Learning (ADEIL). The ADEIL Course Award honors an outstanding credit course that opened during the previous year and recognizes the accomplishment of the instructor who created it. Dr. Schumpert notably incorporated virtual reality into the BIOL 102L course. Amazing work!

Congratulations to Anne Moxley and Dr. David Reisman

Anne Moxley and Dr. David Reisman have published a review article entitled "Context is key: Understanding the regulation, functional control, and activities of the p53 tumour suppressor" in Cell Biochemistry and Function. Check it out here!

Congratulations to Dr. Alissa Armstrong

Dr. Alissa Armstrong was awarded a Developmental Research Program grant from South Carolina IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (SC INBRE) for studying the role of adipocyte amino acid sensing control in ovarian function. Learn more about Dr. Armstrong's research here!

Congratulations to Dr. Richard Youle

Congratulations to Dr. Rich Youle on winning a 2021 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences from the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. Dr. Youle was a graduate student in the Department of Biological Sciences in the late 70s before becoming a senior investigator at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He is awarded a Breakthrough Prize for elucidating a quality control pathway that clears damaged mitochondria and thereby protects against Parkinson’s Disease. Read about his achievement here!

Congratulations SPARC Graduate Research Grant Recipients

Congratulations to Louis (Ely lab), Allison (Davis lab), Logan (Stewart lab) and Chad (Armstrong lab) for being awarded a SPARC Graduate Research Grant from the Office of the Vice President for Research! The SPARC grant is a merit-based award that provides support and encourages outstanding students to pursue exciting research directions during their graduate career.

Congratulations ASPIRE Award Winners

Congratulations to Drs. Chen, Kar, Krizek, Lizarraga, Stone, Twiss and Weaver for being awarded an ASPIRE-I: Innovation Award from the Office of the Vice President for Research! The ASPIRE-I: Innovation Award supports faculty and post-docs seeking to develop a relatively new line of research exploration for which they ultimately plan to seek new scholarly pursuits, including external funding.

Congratulations to Dr. Pinckney for being the recipient of an ASPIRE-III: Infrastructure Award. The ASPIRE-III: Infrastructure helps faculty researchers invest in multi-user research equipment and/or facilities that will enhance USC's research infrastructure.

Congratulations to Eilea Knotts

Eilea Knotts (former PhD student in Jay Pinkney's lab - defended Oct 2019) was awarded the 2020 Breakthrough Graduate Scholar by the Office of the VP for Research. The award is given in recognition of "her academic excellence, considerable contributions to research, scholarly activities, and creative pursuits in her field".

Research in the Speiser Lab featured in Science

Congrats to newly-minted Associate Professor Dan Speiser along with Dr. Alex Kingston and grad student Dan Chappell for their paper being published in Biology Letters. The article can be found here.

snapping shrimp

Congratulations to Michelle Passerotti

Congratulations to Michelle Passerotti for her paper being selected as the Cindy and Dan Carson Best Graduate Student Paper of the Year. Michelle’s paper, “Fourier-transform near infrared spectroscopy rapid and non-destructively predicts daily age and growth in otoliths of juvenile red snapper Lutjanus campechanus (Poey, 1860)” and was published in Fisheries Research. The paper describes the novel use of Near Infrared Spectroscopy for the use of obtaining age estimation in fish.

Michelle Passeroti with red snapper

Congratulations to Dr. Gerald Brasington

Congratulations to Dr. Gerald Brasington on winning the SCOER (SC Open Educational Resources) award. This award is given to faculty who strive to make educational researches more accessible to students to cut down on financial burdens. Award winners are selected by Library staff and also members of the Student Government.
Gerald Brasington Profile Picture

There are so many exciting things happening within the Department of Biological Sciences. Please check out the News Page for more stories.

"The Department of Biological Sciences gathers people with a rich diversity of backgrounds and experiences. We promote diversity in our teaching, research and service endeavors. We support equality, diversity, equal opportunity and justice, and we reject racism, discrimination, and prejudice. We uphold the Carolina Creed, showing respect for the dignity of all persons, the rights and property of others, and discourage bigotry."

Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.