Research

The Department of Biological Sciences offers extensive opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to join research projects led by our faculty in two distinct areas: cell and molecular biology and ecology, biodiversity and evolutionary biology. 

We are committed to ensuring our students feel fully supported when it comes to their research goals. We're able to supplement and grow our research community with help from our partnerships with institutions such as the National Institutes of Health, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation, Department of Defense and Department of Justice.

Graduate Participation in Cutting-Edge Research

Our graduate students have the opportunity to affect real change in the world, with the potential to develop new tactics for protecting our environment or find new treatments for chronic diseases.

Graduate research assistant positions are funded by a faculty mentor's research grant. Students may apply for a GRA by contacting individual faculty in the department.

Learn more about the exciting faculty research projects currently underway in our department. 

Fossil close up

Preparing Junior Investigators

DU's Undergraduate Research Center, run by faculty mentors from the departments of biological sciences, physics and astronomy and psychology, guides undergraduates through the intricacies of high-level research and publication, approvals, travel, grants and funding, and proprietary property.

Visit URC

There are very few labs around the country that do forensic research and development. Within that rare group, there’s only a small subset of labs that are associated with universities, that engage students in this type of work.

Dr. Phil Danielson, Professor of Molecular Biology and Forensic Genetics

Undergraduates Gaining Ground

Summer Research Experiences

Through grants from DU's Undergraduate Research Center and Colorado-Wyoming Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (CO-WY AMP), a limited number of summer research experiences are awarded to undergraduate students each year.