In addition to their teaching interests and activities, the faculty of the Department of Biology are actively engaged in research and scholarship. Our areas of research focus are Genetics and Molecular Biology (GMB), Cell and Developmental Biology (CDB), Neuroscience (NS) , and Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology (PBEE). The research projects of various faculty utilize several different and important biological model systems including bacteria, yeast, fruit flies, zebrafish, cultured cells, and other vertebrate and invertebrate species. Research in our department is funded by both the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, and our research labs are populated by undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research specialists, and of course, the faculty principal investigators. In addition, many of our faculty are involved in scholarly activities that support our undergraduate and graduate curricula, promote scientific literacy, and help the public to understand and appreciate the important connection between the scientific enterprise and the improvement of the human condition. Thus, the Biology faculty are involved in a wide range of activities that complement their instructional endeavors.