As an investigator at the American Museum of Natural History, UMD alum Jessica Goodheart (Ph.D. ’17, biological sciences) seeks to solve how sea slugs steal to survive.

Biological sciences doctoral student Stephanie Chia uses informatics to determine why some animal forms fail to arise.

UMD biological sciences Ph.D. student Gayatri Anand develops mathematical models to understand how hundreds of giant honey bees ‘shimmer’ in perfect synchrony to protect their hive. 

Biological sciences Ph.D. candidate Eeshita Ghosh gets to the root(s) of how plants respond on the cellular level to environmental change, asking how key proteins regulate the calcium signals that sound the alarm.

Biological sciences Ph.D. candidate Theresa Menna characterizes the sensory genes that drive blood-seeking mosquitoes to sniff out a preferred host.

Paleobotanist Nathan Jud (Ph.D. ’14, biological sciences) digs up, compares and identifies fossils that fill holes in the story of plant evolution.

Jessica Kopew (Ph.D. ’24, biological sciences) wants to see more alternatives to animal models used in research about people.

The fellowship brings together researchers studying human, environmental and agricultural microbiomes, encouraging collaboration across disciplines that rarely intersect.

Biological sciences major Cadence Michels sees striking parallels between genetic code and musical composition—and she's using both to make her mark at UMD.

Over 600 students from our college graduated in December 2025.