News
2023 Legacy Society Award: Brian and Billie Snell, M.D.
Brian and Billie met at Georgia Southern in the late 1970’s. Brian graduated in 1978 with an accounting degree and Billie earned a degree in biology in 1979. They moved to Augusta, where Brian earned an MBA while Billie attended the Medical College of Georgia. Their careers took them to Gadsden, Alabama, where Billie joined the Gadsden Pediatric Clinic and Brian’s career in pharmaceuticals flourished. Yet, they always remained loyal to Georgia Southern University and have supported many departments on campus. Recently, they announced a legacy gift of $750,000 to benefit the Department of Biology and its students. Georgia Southern honored the Snells with the 2023 Legacy Award for their many years of giving and generosity.
Georgia Southern biology graduate students awarded sea grants for research
Two graduate students from Georgia Southern University’s Department of Biology have been awarded major grants for their research in marine biology. William Annis and Lauren Moniz were each awarded Graduate Research Traineeships worth more than $20,000 from the Georgia Sea Grant. The awards will support their research as they work toward completing their masters degrees.
Georgia Southern professor teams up to lead workshop on plastic pollution in Vietnam
Georgia Southern University Professor of Biology Lissa Leege, Ph.D., partnered with faculty from Loyola University Chicago, Baylor University and University of California, Riverside to lead a workshop in Vietnam on the negative effects plastic pollution has on the ocean. The workshop is expected to indirectly reach the 2,300 high school teachers and 40,000 high school students of the Binh Dinh Province through the 100 educators who attended.
Georgia Southern graduate student conducts research as snake specialist in Honduras
Lauren Wilson, a graduate student in the Georgia Southern University Department of Biology, spent the summer working as a snake specialist in Central America. Wilson joined a research team tasked with quantifying and protecting biodiversity in the forests of Cusuco National Park, Honduras. The team was organized by the conservation research organization, Operation Wallacea.
Department of Biology researchers host Citizen Scientist Training Workshop
Researchers from the Georgia Southern University Department of Biology hosted a Citizen Scientist Training Workshop earlier this summer in Waverly, Georgia. The workshop was funded by Georgia Southern University’s Office of the Provost through a faculty service award and was organized and led by biology professors Loren Mathews, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Sargent, Ph.D., and biology alumna Lindsey Stanfield Jones.
Georgia Southern Biology professor participates in global study of river ecosystems
Georgia Southern Associate Professor of Biology Checo Colon-Gaud, Ph.D., is one of 153 researchers from 40 countries who has just published a groundbreaking study of ecosystem function in rivers around the world. These scientists constructed a peer-sourced network of researchers to conduct a global-scale experiment on carbon cycling in rivers.
Two Georgia Southern professors selected to work at National Science Foundation
Georgia Southern University Professors of Biology Laura Regassa and Sophie George have been selected to work at the National Science Foundation (NSF) at the same time. Dr. Regassa is currently serving as director of the Innovations in Graduate Education program at the foundation, and will stay for a fourth year in 2019. Dr George will head to the NSF this spring for a three-year rotation in the Division of Biological Infrastructure. She also served in this role from 2012-2015.
Department of Biology researchers use DNA to monitor endangered species
Georgia Southern University researchers in the Department of Biology are using cutting-edge genetic technology to help better monitor endangered species. Biology professors Jamie Roberts, Ph.D. and Christian Cox, Ph.D., were awarded three years of funding by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.
Biology faculty and students monitor biodiversity of dredged ponds on campus
Faculty and students from the Biology Department are beginning to see a return of wildlife diversity in ponds on the Statesboro campus following their dredging last December.
Biology professor documents impacts of climate change on forest trees
Virtually all life on Earth depends on the process of photosynthesis, in which plants use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into simple sugars. A key question for biologists is whether global climate change will help or hinder this process. Georgia Southern University professor Kerrie Sendall, Ph.D., and her colleagues have found that “it depends.”
Georgia Southern alumna conducts aquaculture research in Iceland
Amber Monroe, a 2016 Georgia Southern University graduate who earned a B.S. in biology, settled into the dramatic landscapes of Iceland earlier this year to pursue graduate research and fulfill a childhood dream.
Georgia Southern biology professor receives National Science Foundation grant to study hormones and growth
Georgia Southern University Department of Biology Professor Christian L. Cox, Ph.D., has received a grant from the National Science Foundation to study a long-standing question in evolutionary biology about hormones and growth.
Dr. Christine Bedore interviewed for news reports on sharks
Dr. Bedore, an assistant professor in Georgia Southern University’s Department of Biology, shares her expertise on sharks in a series of reports produced by our local network.
Watch: reduce your risks of a shark encounter
Watch: increases in South Carolina shark attacks?
Biology graduate student wins 2018 Averitt Award for Research Excellence
Jose A. Sanchez-Ruiz, a graduate student in Georgia Southern University’s Department of Biology, is the 2018 winner of the Averitt Award for Research Excellence. The Averitt Award is the highest honor bestowed upon graduate students within the Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies. Sanchez-Ruiz is a native of Puerto Rico.
Biology graduate student 2017 Averitt Award winner
John David Curlis (’17) is the recipient of the 2017 Averitt Award of Excellence in Graduate Research. The award, along with the Averitt Award of Excellence in Graduate Instruction, are the two highest honors bestowed within the Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies.
Biologists describe eight new species from the Georgia Southern Statesboro Campus
Eight new species of feather mites that have never before been described anywhere have been identified on the Georgia Southern University campus in Statesboro. How do eight unknown species go undetected for so long? They are very small and live in a surprising location.
Biology faculty develops accessible, hands-on experiments to teach evolution
Being an evolutionary biologist is no longer just for professionals. Georgia Southern Department of Biology Professor Emily Kane, Ph.D., has developed a simple kit that allows grade school students to become scientists in their own classrooms.
Georgia Southern alumnus Nick Wiley named chief conservation officer of Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited (DU) announced in November the hiring of Georgia Southern alumnus Nick Wiley (‘83) as its new chief conservation officer, effective January 2018.
Biology graduate student receives National Science Foundation fellowship
Jose Sanchez, a graduate student in the Georgia Southern Department of Biology, has been awarded a highly competitive National Science Foundation (NSF) fellowship to conduct ecological research in South America.
Department of Biology researchers bring fish hatchery back to life
Although the Bo Ginn Fish Hatchery has been idle for many years, the Georgia Southern Department of Biology will soon put it to use to conduct cutting-edge research. The Department signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) to allow University biology students and faculty to use the facility, located in Magnolia Springs near Millen, Georgia, as a resource to better understand the future of ecosystems in the southeastern U.S.
Georgia Southern University biologists quantify campus biodiversity
Squirrels and robins are a common sight on almost any college campus. But is the park-like landscape of a campus actually a good habitat for wildlife? How many other species live in the fields, forests and waters of a university campus? Faculty and students at Georgia Southern University have just completed a two-year study to answer these questions.
Biology professor Dongyu Jia, Ph.D., recognized for research contributions
Georgia Southern faculty continue to be recognized for great achievements. Dongyu Jia, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, has been named a Notable Nole for 2017 for his outstanding research in cellular biology which he will continue at Georgia Southern University.
Students earn $11,000 in scholarships from national organization
Three Georgia Southern students received a total of $11,000 in scholarships from the national Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society organization.
Georgia Southern provides shelter to animals from Georgia Sea Turtle Center
In the midst of Hurricane Matthew, residents of coastal Georgia were not the only ones taking to the evacuation routes. A gopher tortoise, diamondback terrapins, box turtles, sea turtles, additional turtles, an owl and a wood stork from the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island took shelter on Georgia Southern University’s campus as the hurricane passed through the region
New Georgia Southern Biology professor receives award
Stephen Greiman, Ph.D, is the recipient of the 2016 Ashton Cuckler New Investigator Award from the American Society of Parasitologists.
Last updated: 9/20/2019
