Biological Sciences Department

Welcome to Biological Sciences, where we study all aspects of the living world! 

Our programs engage students in an exciting, interdisciplinary curriculum that thoroughly prepares them for their future. We work hard to make sure every biology student gains strong scientific, intellectual and interpersonal skills, and that they graduate well-rounded and ready for careers. Our students become doctors, biomedical researchers, pharmacists, physical therapists, forensic scientists, physician assistants, environmental scientists, healthcare policymakers and so much more.  

Biological Sciences degree programs are distinguished by small class sizes, remarkable research opportunities and faculty who are highly dedicated to their students, both in and out of the classroom. You’re not just another “face in the crowd” when you are a Mount student — you are part of our family. So, when it comes time to ask for that extra help or for letters of recommendation, we make sure our students get the best from our faculty! 

Our academic borders extend well beyond campus. We offer opportunities to participate in faculty-led research trips during spring break and summer vacation. Students can study environmental sustainability at the world-famous Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies on Catalina Island or healthcare and indigenous solutions to cancer in places like Peru and India.  

The Department of Biological Sciences at Mount Saint Mary’s University helps change lives for the better — beginning with our own students. We hope you will join us in our mission to better our communities and our world together! 

Being able to conduct research at MSMU was a life-changing experience for me. This experience opened my eyes to a different side of science that I was not aware of and opened up a new career path for me. During my time in Dr. Nogaj’s lab, I not only learned key laboratory skills, but I became a confident and independent researcher — all of which has proven to be valuable for graduate school.

Catalina Pereira ‘14, PhD candidate in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology at Cornell University

Special programs and research

Biology students at the Mount have access to a wealth of opportunities. And we have built strong structures of peer mentorship and faculty guidance into our program.

We encourage our students to begin research in their second year, and since we believe that learning to present scientific information is just as important as discovering it, our research students travel to conferences all over the country to present their findings. Almost all student conference travel is funded either by grants or by the department itself.

The Mount’s Department of Biological Sciences holds $2.5 million in grant funding for student support and research, and our total grant funding over the last decade comes to more than $18 million. We offer students the opportunity to get hands-on experience in finding solutions for real-world problems through both fieldwork and lab work.

In contrast to students at larger universities, Biological Sciences students at the Mount are encouraged to begin independent research projects with a faculty mentor in their second year. 

In our research labs, students do cutting-edge work studying cures for diabetes and cancer, understanding bacterial diseases and exploring aquatic ecosystems. We also send our Mount students to present their work at local and national research conferences, and some students even publish papers in prestigious academic journals with their mentors — a rare thing for undergraduate students! 

Many of our faculty conduct research during the academic year as well as during summer vacation. Students can join research labs in either the Biological Sciences or Physical Sciences departments.

This program provides first- and second-year students with hands-on research exposure to geosciences and environmental sciences at the University of Southern California’s Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies, located on Catalina Island. All student costs are fully covered, and students gain access to peer mentoring and exposure to career and graduate school options in the fields of environmental science and geoscience.

Designed by Mount Saint Mary’s University faculty, Global Women in STEM and Policy is open to students majoring in biology, chemistry, political science, healthcare policy and global politics. Students accepted to the program form a cohort and engage in a three-semester, cross-discipline experience that culminates in a summer of field research focusing on a global perspective of breast cancer development. Students examine the role of biology, healthcare access and environmental effects on breast cancer outcomes. Students also examine the effects of natural remedies used by indigenous women on the viability of cancer cells. In recent years, students have traveled to Peru, India and Kenya for their field research.

For more information about the GWSTEM program, visit the program page.

Students in Dr. Peterson’s BIO_002 Honors Lab join nearly 10,000 students worldwide as they investigate the soil for potential antibiotic-producing bacteria. Research-based labs like this are uncommon for first-year students. Participants gain concrete research and lab skills while tackling a problem that the World Health Organization calls “one of the biggest threats to global health, food security and development today.” Read more about the Tiny Earth project. 

Students taking samples outside

Dr. Adriane Jones: Aquatic Molecular Ecology

Faculty research

“I am interested in relationships between community structure and function within microbial assemblages. I am particularly interested in microbial community variation over time and in response to environmental stressors, particularly at the urban coastal interface. I hope my research will provide environmentally relevant information about the status of aquatic microbial communities and how these communities might react to or buffer environmental change.” 
Students using vortex

Dr. Luiza Nogaj: Cancer, Diabetes and Protein Aggregation Diseases

Faculty Research

“Part of my research involves the role of several candidate genes and proteins on the level of tumor suppressor gene expression. We characterize human biopsy samples to identify the markers of breast cancer progression and use biochemical methods to determine the mechanism of that progression. "

Career opportunities

Graduates of our Biological Sciences degree programs have a wide and exciting range of professional career options available to them. 

Many of our alumnae continue their education at prestigious medical schools or health science professional schools to become medical doctors, physical therapists, optometrists, physician assistants and more. Others advance to world-renowned research graduate programs to earn their master’s degree or PhD to become researchers, professors or policymakers. Still others move directly into the workforce, working in the biotechnology industry or government for firms such as a Merck, LabCorp or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

The opportunities are endless when you earn a degree in the biological sciences from Mount Saint Mary’s University!

For more information, please contact biology@msmu.edu or your admission counselor.

Program goals and outcomes

The guiding philosophy for Biological Sciences is to inspire students to find and explore their passions while providing tools for future success. We offer a diversity of hands-on programs with the goal of preparing our students to make positive impacts in their community and the world at large.

When our students graduate from the Mount with a biology degree, they will have:

  • Developed effective scientific communication skills.
    • Oral Presentation skills: Present scientific data clearly and logically using correct/appropriate scientific terminology.
    • Written skills: Prepare a well-written Biology related report based on the scientific research format (Title, abstract, introduction, materials/methods, results, discussion, etc.).
  • Developed the ability to think independently and critically.
    • Use scientific methods to acquire, analyze and apply scientific knowledge.
  • Developed a mastery of theoretical and practical knowledge in biology. 
    • Evolution: Describe how living systems change through time.
    • Interaction: Demonstrate how living systems interact with one another and their environment.
    • Genetics/ reproduction: Demonstrate how living organisms are related to other generations by genetic material.
    • Structure and Function: Demonstrate that structure determines function in biological systems.
    • Develop common laboratory techniques and safety procedures.
  • Learned to honor the highest ethical standards and values, which are central pillars to scientific integrity.
    • Identify examples of plagiarism and demonstrate academic honesty.
    • Demonstrate skepticism of existing ideas and openness to alternative ideas.