Graduate Studies,
Department of Biological Sciences,
Louisiana State University,
Baton Rouge, LA 70803.
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Degree Programs
Program Overview
Facilities
Contact
Admission
Financial Assistance
Graduate Faculty
DEGREE PROGRAMS
The Department of Biological Sciences offers research-oriented M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Biological Sciences. Qualified students usually enter the Ph.D. program without first earning an M.S. degree. Requirements for the Ph.D. include appropriate coursework individualized to the needs of the student, 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 a dissertation and research publications. 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.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
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.
FACILITIES
The Department of Biological Sciences is housed in the Life Sciences Building that recently was expanded by a major addition. 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 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.
CONTACT
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.
ADMISSION
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 physical chemistry. 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.
There are four simple steps for applying to our program:
Submit an application. 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).
Send to the LSU Graduate School a non-refundable fee of $25 (U.S.). This must be in the form of a check or money order payable to Louisiana State University.
Have the results of the GRE (verbal, quantitative and analytical) and TOEFL (if your are a foreign applicant) sent to the LSU Graduate School.
Have the following sent to the Department of Biological Sciences:
Official transcripts from the registrar of each college or university you previously or currently attend
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.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
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 $18,000 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.
GRADUATE FACULTY (top)
(Most names are linked to faculty web pages which contain a research description and a list of recent publications)
A
Fareed Aboul-ela NMR, RNA Structure, Small-molecule RNA interactions
B
Sue G. Bartlett Chloroplast biogenesis
John R. Battista DNA repair and mutagenesis in E. coli and Deinococcus radiodurans
Mark A. Batzer Comparative Genomics and Molecular Genetics
Mobile Element Biology, Computational Biology,Human Population Genetics, Primate Systematics
Jim Belanger Neuroethology, adaptive behavior
Meredith Blackwell Mycology, systematics
Terry M. Bricker Protein-Protein Interactions in Membrane Protein Complexes. Structure and Function in Photosystem II, Proteomics of the Chloroplast Lumen
Kenneth M. Brown Ecology and conservation of aquatic communities
Richard C. Bruch Molecular mechanisms mediating signal transduction in peripheral olfactory neurons
C
John T. Caprio Olfaction and Taste
Kevin R. Carman Microbial ecology, benthic ecology, biological oceanography
Brent C. Christner Microbial ecology, physiology, and diversity; molecular biology; microbiology of the cryosphere
Stephania Cormier Immunopathology, lung cell and molecular biology, regulation of gene and protein expression, neonatal immunity
James T. Cronin Population and Community Ecology, Plant-Herbivore-Natural Enemy Interactions, Ecological Genetics, Biological Pest Management
D
Patrick DiMario Study of proteins involved with ribosome biogenesis and nucleolar structure. Posttranslational phosphorylation or methylation of individual nucleolin peptide domains.
Huangen Ding Regulatory function and metabolism of iron sulfur proteins during oxidative stress
William T. Doerrler Membrane biogenesis in E. coli
David Donze Chromatin Structure and Gene Expression
E
Annette Summers Engel Geomicrobiology, molecular- and culture-based approaches to understand microbial diversity and ecology, geochemistry and biogeochemical cycling, karst studies
F
John W. Fleeger Marine ecology, meiofaunal abundance
David W. Foltz Molecular population genetics, systematics and evolution of marine invertebrates
G
Fernando Galvez Integrative Fish Biology, Environmental Physiology, Aquatic Toxicology
Evanna L. Gleason Cellular and synaptic physiology of retinal neurons
Anne Grove Protein-nucleic acid interactions and sequence-dependent DNA bendability, analyzed in the context of the yeast RNA polymerase III and bacterial histone-like proteins
H
Mark S. Hafner Molecular systematics and mammalogy
Hollie Hale-Donze Infection and Immunity
Steven Hand Bioenergetics, molecular physiology, environmental control of gene expression, comparative biochemistry
Kyle E. Harms Population, Community, and Evolutionary Ecology
Craig M. Hart Chromosome Organization, Chromatin Structure and Gene Expression
Michael E. Hellberg Molecular evolution, population genetics and speciation in marine invertebrates and fish
Dominique G.Homberger Functional, ecological, and evolutionary morphology
K
Naohiro Kato Molecular genetics and Bioimaging
Joomyeong ‘Joo’ Kim Mammalian genomic imprinting, Genome evolution and function
L
Roger A. Laine Bioactivity and structure of complex carbohydrates, microbial diagnostics, termite chemical effectors, analysis and pharmacophores
John C. Larkin Developmental genetics, cell differentiation, cell cycle, plant biology
Yong-Hwan Lee Macromolecular X-ray crystallography, environmental regulation of cellular metabolism, and protein chemistry
Vince J. LiCata Protein structure and function; energy management in proteins; the role of water and solvent in protein function and stability
David J. Longstreth Plant Ecophysiology
John W. Lynn Reproductive Physiology
M
Thomas S. Moore Regulation of membrane lipid synthesis
James V. Moroney Photosynthesis and bioenergetics
N
Marcia Newcomer Protein Crystallography
P
Gregg S. Pettis Genetics and molecular biology of conjugation in the genus Streptomyces; biological control and pathogenesis of the sweetpotato pathogen Streptomyces ipomoeae
William J. Platt, III Plant population biology / ecology
Kirsten Prüfer Cell biology of nuclear receptors, trafficking, nuclear import and export, molecular endocrinology, biochemistry, molecular biology
R
Frederick A. Rainey Molecular systematics and ecology, molecular approaches to bacterial taxonomy
S
Joseph F. Siebenaller Biochemical Adaptation to the Marine Environment
Harold Silverman Freshwater Mussel Anatomy and Physiology; Muscle Structure and Function
Jacqueline M. Stephens Diabetes research, transcription factors, biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology
Richard Stevens Community ecology, Macroecology, and Biogeography
William B. Stickle, Jr. Marine environmental physiology
Kurt Svoboda Neurobiology and Behavior
U
Lowell E. Urbatsch Vascular plant systematics
W
Grover L. Waldrop Kinetic and chemical mechanisms of enzymatic reactions
Andrew Whitehead Environmental genomics, population genomics, stress biology, ecotoxicology
G. Bruce Williamson Tropical plant community ecology
E. William Wischusen Vertebrate ecology
Y
Tin-Wein Yu Functional genetics of microbial metabolites and structural diversity of natural products
Z
Wayne Zhou Structure and Function of protein tyrosine phosphatases; Structure and Function of the phox (PX) domain-containing proteins
Adjunct Professors
Christopher C. Austin Population genetics, systematics, biogeography, phylogeography and physiological and functional ecology of reptiles and amphibians
Robb T. Brumfield Avian population genetics and systematics
Christopher Carlton Systematics, diversity and phylogenetic relationships of beetles
Michael J. Dagg Biological oceanography
J. Michael Fitzsimons Systematic icthyology and ethology
Gerald Guala
K. Gus Kousoulas Molecular biology and pathogenesis of herpes simplex viruses (HSV) and human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8)
Paul LaRock Estuarine pollution, microbiology, geomicrobiology, oceanography
Irving A. Mendelssohn Wetland and barrier island plant ecology, plant physiological ecology
Randall Mynatt
Robert Peet
Dorothy P. Prowell Evolutionary ecology, conservation biology, and molecular evolution
William A. Pryor Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Environmental, and Toxicology
J. V. Remsen, Jr. Ornithology
Frederick H. Sheldon Molecular systematics and ornithology
Steven R. Smith
Vincent Wilson Genetic toxicology of environmental pollutants and human disease; Mechanism of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis; Inheritance and genetic diseases
Jianping Ye Gene Regulation
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Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Cellular, Developmental, and Integrative Biology Sytematics, Ecology, and Evolution
Fareed Aboul-ela
Sue G. Bartlett
Mark A. Batzer
John R. Battista
Terry M. Bricker
Richard Bruch
Stephania Cormier
Patrick DiMario
Huangen Ding
William Doerrler
David Donze
Anne Grove
Hollie Hale-Donze
Steven Hand
Craig M. Hart
Joomyeong Kim
Roger A. Laine
John C. Larkin
Yong-Hwan Lee
Vince J. LiCata
Thomas Moore
James V. Moroney
Marcia Newcomer
Gregg S. Pettis
Grover L. Waldrop
Tin-Wein Yu
Wayne Zhou
Mark A. Batzer
Jim Belanger
Richard C. Bruch
John T. Caprio
Stephania Cormier
Patrick DiMario
Fernando Galvez
Evanna L. Gleason
Hollie Hale-Donze
Steven Hand
Dominique G. Homberger
Naohiro Kato
Roger A. Laine
John C. Larkin
David J. Longstreth
John W. Lynn
Thomas S. Moore
James V. Moroney
Joseph F. Siebenaller
Harold Silverman
Jacqueline M. Stephens
William B. Stickle, Jr.
Kurt Svoboda
Mark A. Batzer
Meredith Blackwell
Kenneth M. Brown
Kevin R. Carman
James T. Cronin
Annette Summers Engel
John W. Fleeger
David W. Foltz
Fernando Galvez
Mark S. Hafner
Steven Hand
Kyle Harms
Michael E. Hellberg
Dominique G. Homberger
William J. Platt, III
Fred A. Rainey
Richard Stevens
William B. Stickle, Jr.
Lowell E. Urbatsch
G. Bruce Williamson
William E. Wischusen
Andrew Whitehead
ADJUNCTS
K. Gus Kousoulas
Randall Mynatt
Steven R. Smith
Robert Peet
Jianping Ye
ADJUNCTS
William Henk
ADJUNCTS
Christopher C. Austin
Robb T. Brumfield
Christopher Carlton
Michael Dagg
J. Michael Fitzsimons
Gerald Guala
Paul LaRock
Irving Mendelssohn
Dorothy Pashley Prowell
J. V. Remsen, Jr.
Frederick H. Sheldon
Steven A. Soper
Vincent Wilson
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