Biological Sciences
The Department of Biological Sciences offers research-oriented M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in biochemistry. Qualified students usually enter the Ph.D. program without first earning a M.S. degree. Requirements for the Ph.D. include appropriate coursework designed to provide broad but intensive training in biochemistry, experience in presentation of seminars, and successful completion of qualifying and general examinations. The Ph.D. also requires formulation and execution of original research, as demonstrated by production of research publications and a dissertation. The M.S. requires a thesis and a minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate work, 24 hours of which must be in coursework. At least one-half of the minimum required credit in the M.S. program must be in courses at or above the 7000 level.
The Biological Sciences degree programs are designed to be flexible in order to meet the many of needs of students in the sub-disciplines of modern biology. This flexibility allows designing a program of courses that will benefit the student and his or her research needs.
The Biological Sciences degrees may be undertaken in any of the three Divisions within our Department: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (BMB); Cellular, Developmental, & Integrative Biology (CDIB); and Systematics, Ecology, & Evolution (SEE). Over 60 faculty have a wide range of research interests. The 130 graduate students in the department receive funding from a combination of departmental teaching assistantships, fellowships, and external research support.
The Department of Biological Sciences is primarily housed in the Life Sciences Building that recently was expanded by a major addition, and Choppin Hall, which also houses the Department of Chemistry. The laboratories are designed for conducting modern research in diverse fields including biochemistry and molecular biology; cell, organismal and integrative physiology; ecology, systematics, and evolutionary biology; plant biology; microbiology and molecular genetics. Several large facilities with technical help and state-of-art instrumentation facilitate research at LSU and include laboratories for Functional Genomics (DNA sequencers, real time PCR, Scan Array and Microarray equipment), NMR analysis and mass spectrometry (Kratos high-resolution, Finnigen tandem, and Bio-Ion Plasma Desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometers), and confocal, light, and electron microscopy (in the Socolofsky Microscopy Center). Common instruments and facilities include tissue culture facilities, media preparation facilities, darkrooms, walk-in cold rooms, plant-growth chambers, animal facilities, and aquatic facilities. Research support comes from the Louisiana State University Gene Probes and Expression Systems Laboratory, the Protein Facility, and the Macromolecular Computing Analysis Facility. The personnel of the Department of Experimental Statistics are available to help design experiments and analyze data, especially in ecological studies.
The recent addition of a Beowulf cluster provides a computer system that will run at 2.1 TeraFlops, or 2.1 trillion floating-point operations per second. This would rank it among the six or seven fastest computers in the world, and second among academic institutions worldwide. An initiative in Biological Computing is a part of this new investment by the State of Louisiana.
Students and faculty also have access to the research collections of the Museum of Natural Science (with more than 350,000 specimens) and the LSU Herbarium (home to many specimens of land plants, lichens, and fungi) as well as many of the research facilities of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station and Louisiana Sea Grant. Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) provides support for marine/estuarine research and maintains two research vessels for offshore research and numerous smaller boats for inshore sampling. Field research by department members is conducted in numerous tropical, subtropical, temperate and high-latitude locations. Biological Sciences faculty collaborate with scientists throughout LSU including the Departments of Animal Science, Chemistry, Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology, Oceanography and Coastal Science, the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, the Audubon Sugar Institute, the Institute for Environmental Studies, Civil and Environmental and Chemical Engineering, and the School of Veterinary Medicine, as well as universities and research centers throughout the nation and world.
For more information, please contact the Office of Graduate Studies,
Department of Biological Sciences. We may be reached directly at (225)578-1556
or gradoff@lsu.edu , or by mail at:
Graduate Studies, Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State
University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803.
Applications for graduate study are accepted at any time, but they are evaluated only after all supporting documents and credentials have been received. Applications should be initiated at least 7-9 months prior to anticipated entry. For Fall admission, we recommend applications be submitted by the end of the preceding year. By the time of admission, applicants should have earned a minimum of a baccalaureate degree with training in the areas our own undergraduates receive. These include courses in general and advanced biology (including genetics and biochemistry), inorganic and organic chemistry, calculus, introductory physics, and statistics. Qualified students lacking one or two of these areas may remedy the deficiencies after admission. Applicants must score at least 1100 on the GRE (verbal plus quantitative scores, analytical is not included) and 550 (paper test) or 213 (computer test) on the TOEFL (for international students) in order to be considered for admission. An overall GPA of at least 3.00 ("A" = 4.0) is required.
Application is completed by following the simple steps below:
1. Submit to the Graduate School (114 David Boyd Hall, LSU Baton Rouge, LA 70805):
-
An application to the Graduate School. Electronic submission has been implemented and is recommended. Details on how to apply also are found at that site. You also may apply by submitting a completed "Application for Admission" form (available from the Department).
-
A non-refundable fee of $25 (U.S.). This must be in the form of a check or money order payble to Louisiana State University.
-
Official results of the GRE (verbal, quantitative and analytical) and TOEFL (if you are a foreign applicant) sent by ETS.
-
Official transcripts from the registrar of each college or university you previously or currently attend.
2. Have the following sent to the Department of Biological Sciences:
-
Three letters of recommendation written by persons familiar with your academic and professional qualifications. A cover form for the letters of recommendation is available online.
Teaching Assistantships are available from the Department. Research Assistantships are available from grant support to individual faculty members. All awards are competitive. Assistantships provide annual stipends ranging from $13,250 for M.S. candidates, and $15,250 base pay for Ph.D. students; Ph.D. students may receive supplements to provide a higher overall stipend.
Outstanding Ph.D. applicants who are U.S. citizens may be awarded Board of Regents Fellowships by the department. These research fellowships may be renewed for up to four years with renewal subject to annual review. Fellowships carry no teaching responsibilities beyond a one semester departmental requirement, and include tuition waiver and an $20,000 annual stipend.
To be considered for support for fall enrollment, applications must be completed by the end of the year preceding the year of admission.
(Most names are linked to faculty web pages which contain a research description and a list of recent publications)
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB)
Fareed Aboul-ela NMR, RNA Structure, Small-molecule RNA interactions.
Sue G. Bartlett Chloroplast protein biogenesis, synthesis, and transport
John R. Battista Molecular biology; mechanisms of mutagenesis in Deinococcus radiodurans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Mark A. Batzer Comparative genomics and molecular genetics; mobile element biology, computational biology, human genome organization, human population genetics
Terry M. Bricker Structural and functional properties of Photosystem II
Richard C. Bruch
Simon H. Chang Molecular biology and recombinant DNA technology; investigations of regulation of PFK
Stephania Cormier Immunopathology, lung cell and molecular biology, regulation of gene and protein explosion, neonatal immunity
Patrick DiMario Interactions of nucleolar proteins involved in RNA and ribosome processing and assembly
Huangen Ding Regulatory function and metabolism of iron sulfur proteins
William T. Doerrler Membrane biogenesis in E. coli
David Donze Chromatin structure and gene expression
Anne Grove Protein-nucleic acid interactions; DNA bendability; RNA polymerase III from yeast
Hollie-Hale Donze Infection and Immunity
Brian J. Hales ESR spectroscopy of biological free radicals; NMR spectroscopy of biological molecules; nitrogen fixation; metalloproteins
Steven Hand Bioenergetics, molecular physiology, environmental control of gene expression, comparative biochemistry
Craig M. Hart Chromosome organization, chromatin structure and gene expression
Roger A. Laine Carbohydrate, glycolipid, and glycoprotein structural analysis by mass spectrometry
John C. Larkin Molecular genetics, plant development biology
John M. Larkin Taxonomy, ecology, cytology, and physiology of Beggiatoa, Thiothrix, the Microcyclus-Spirosoma group, and mycobacteria
Yong-Hwan Lee Structure/function studies of the metabolic regulator proteins and their regulatory mechanisms
Vince J. LiCata Protein structure and function; energy management in proteins; solvent in protein function and stability
Thomas S. Moore Regulation of membrane lipid synthesis in plant organs, cell cultures and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
James V. Moroney Role of membrane transport and carbon dioxide fixation in photosynthesis and bioenergetics
Marcia Newcomer Protein crystallography
Gregg S. Pettis Molecular Biology; mechanism of conjugation in the gram positive bacteria Streptomyces and Mycobacteria
Kirsten Prüfer Cell Biology of nuclear receptors, trafficking nuclear import and export, molecular endocrinology, biochemistry, molecular biology
William A. Pryor Chemistry, biochemistry, and toxicology of free radical reactions, including effects of cigarette smoke, ozone, NO, and smog
Jacqueline M. Stephens Cell biology
Grover L. Waldrop Mechanistic enzymology and structure/function relationships in proteins
Tin-Wein Yu Functional genetics of microbial metabolites and structural diversity of natural products
G. Wayne Zhou Structure and Function of protein tyrosine phosphatases; Structure and Function of the phox (PX) domain-containing proteins. Identifying potential biomarkers for cancer diagnosis by using antibody microarray staining
Adjunct Faculty in BMB
K. Gus Kousoulas Molecular biology of herpes viruses by general and site-specific mutagenesis
Randall Mynatt Obesity, transgenics
Steven R. Smith Adipocyte biology, energy expenditure, metabolism
Jianping Ye Antioxidant and Gene Regulation Lab; insulin and leptin signaling mechanisms
Cellular, Developmental and Integrative Biology (CDIB)
Mark A. Batzer Comparative genomics and molecular genetics; mobile element biology, computational biology, human genome organization, human population genetics
James H. Belanger Neuroethology; adaptive behavior
Richard C. Bruch Signal transduction
John T. Caprio Neurobiology; olfaction and taste
Stephania Cormier Immunopathology, lung cell and molecular biology, regulation of gene and protein explosion, neonatal immunity
Patrick DiMario Interactions of nucleolar proteins involved in RNA and ribosome processing and assembly
Evanna L. Gleason Neurobiology
Hollie-Hale Donze Infection and Immunity
Steven Hand Bioenergetics, molecular physiology, environmental control of gene expression, comparative biochemistry
Dominique G. Homberger Functional, ecological, and evolutionary morphology of vertebrates, especially birds
Naohiro Kato In situ visualization of genomic function dynamics
Roger A. Laine Carbohydrate, glycolipid, and glycoprotein structural analysis by mass spectrometry
John C. Larkin Developmental genetics, cell differentiation, cell cycle, plant biology
William R. Lee Genetics and mutagenesis
David J. Longstreth Stress physiology, photosynthesis and carbon balance, water relations, adaptations to high salinity
John W. Lynn Fertilization and early development
Thomas S. Moore Regulation of membrane lipid synthesis in plant organs, cell cultures and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
James V. Moroney Cell and molecular biology of CO2 uptake by photosynthetic organisms
Kirsten Prüfer Cell Biology of nuclear receptors, trafficking nuclear import and export, molecular endocrinology, biochemistry, molecular biology
Joseph F. Siebenaller Comparative biochemistry of marine organisms
Harold Silverman Muscle structure and function; freshwater mussel anatomy and physiology
Jacqueline M. Stephens Cell biology
William B. Stickle, Jr. Physiological ecology; marine environmental physiology
Kurt Svoboda Neurobiology and Behavior
Adjunct Faculty in CDIB
William Henk Ultrastructural analysis
Systematics, Ecology and Evolution (SEE)
Mark A. Batzer Comparative genomics and molecular genetics; mobile element biology, computational biology, human genome organization, human population genetics
Meredith Blackwell Mycology, fungal-insect associations; fungal molecular evolution
Kenneth M. Brown Aquatic ecology
Kevin R. Carman Aquatic microbial and benthic ecology
James T. Cronin Population and community ecology, plant-herbivore-natural enemy interactions, ecological genetics, biological pest management
John W. Fleeger Benthic and marine ecology
David W. Foltz Population genetics
Mark S. Hafner Molecular systematics and mammalogy
Steven C. Hand Bioenergetics, molecular physiology, environmental control of gene expression, comparative biochemistry
Kyle E. Harms Population and community ecology, tropical ecosystem ecology, evolutionary ecology of plants and their interactions with other organisms
Michael E. Hellberg Marine invertebrate evolution and systematics
Dominique G.Homberger Functional, ecological, and evolutionary morphology of vertebrates, especially birds
William J. Platt, III Population and community ecology; fire ecology
Frederick A. Rainey Molecular systematics and ecology, molecular approaches to bacterial taxonomy
Richard D. Stevens. Community Ecology, Macroecology, and Biogeography
William B. Stickle, Jr. Physiological ecology; marine environmental physiology
Lowell E. Urbatsch Systematics and evolution of vascular plants
G. Bruce Williamson Plant community ecology, tropical biology of Amazonia
E. William Wischusen Vertebrate ecology
Andrew Whitehead Environmental genomics, population genomics, stress biology, ecotoxicology
Adjunct faculty in SEE
Christopher Carlton Systematics, diversity and phylogenetic relationships of beetles
Michael J. Dagg Biological oceanography; zooplankton ecology
Julie S. Denslow Plant community ecology
Christopher M. Finelli Hydrodynamics and nutrient/odor flows; coral reef and oyster bed nutrients
J. Michael Fitzsimons Systematic ichthyology; ethology
Paul LaRock Estuarine pollution, microbiology, geomicrobiology, oceanography
Irving A. Mendelssohn Wetland and barrier island plant ecology, plant physiological ecology
Robert K. Peet Plant community ecology, geography and conservation biology; bioinformatics and plant population ecology
Dorothy P. Prowell Evolutionary ecology, conservation biology and molecular evolution
James V. Remsen, Jr. Ornithology
Frederick H. Sheldon Molecular systematics of vertebrates
Vincent Wilson Toxicology of environmental pollutants
Go back to Graduate Program