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Making Mentorship a Living Reality

How one grad student is changing the world.

BYU major partner in project to combat Alzheimer's, dementia in Native, Pacific Islander communities

By Todd Hollingshead August 09, 2021 06:00 AM
BYU is a major partner in a new $14.6-million National Institute on Aging-funded project to expand treatment and research on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander groups.

BYU biologists travel the world to chart over 6,300 dragonfly species

By Christie Allen July 28, 2021 11:52 AM
A team of BYU biologists has been tracking dragonflies around the world, from Vietnam to the islands of Vanuatu. Their goal is to piece together the first-ever phylogenic tree of all 6,300 known species and their ancestors.

New director of the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum

By Allie Richael July 13, 2021 09:51 AM
Dean James Porter, College of Life Sciences, announces the appointment of Dr. Michael Whiting as the new director of the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum. The appointment is effective August 1, 2021.

Native Samoan graduate student studies genetic disease in her homelands

By Taylor Nelson June 15, 2021 12:59 PM
Family relationships are the fabric of the Polynesian culture. Grandparents help take care of the young, and in turn, children and grandchildren take care of the elderly. Having grown up in Samoa and Hawaii, graduate biology student Justina Tavana ('23) understands the value of looking out for aging community members, even as the ravaging effects of dementia steal away their close connections and identity.

Meet Our Biologists

Alumni Spotlight: Raya Esplin

July 15, 2022 11:47 AM
Raya recently graduated with a major in bioinformatics and a minor in computer science. She is from Provo, UT and loved the versatility of her major. Students can use it for pre-med, computer science, research prep, or going right into the industry. Raya shared, "you can really tailor the major to your career aspirations." She got a job working full time as a software engineer for a tech company in Provo called Smarty, but is planning on applying to grad schools in the fall for a PhD in evolutionary biology! Her favorite class at BYU was BIO 250 with Byron Adams. To quote her, "I've never felt more intellectually or spiritually enlightened in any other class."
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Featured Videos

Alzheimer’s Disease: Myth, Facts, and the Future

John S. K. Kauwe was an associate professor of biology at Brigham Young University when he gave this devotional on 19 July 2016.

2018 Rheumatic Relief Highlights

Children in Samoa are much more likely than other children in the Pacific to get rheumatic heart disease, a potentially fatal disease which causes inflammation to the heart and its valves.

BYU scientist explains how dirt holds the secrets of our atmosphere's future

BYU biologist Richard Gill joined colleagues at Duke and the USDA's Agricultural Research Service in a study published in the current issue of Nature Climate Change that looks at the role of soil in the future of earth's atmosphere.

Biological Science Education Major

Dr. Josh Stowers discusses the Biological Science Education Major