BIOLOGY, PhD The Doctor of Philosophy in Biology curriculum spans the spectrum of sub-disciplines of the biological sciences. The program is grounded in coursework involving current biological concepts and culminates in the defense of a dissertation describing novel and quality research conducted independently by the student. Doctoral graduates in biology are highly competitive for positions in academic settings, industry, and international research facilities.
Degree Options The PhD program in biology offers students two distinct degree tracks that allow for a broad, foundational training in modern biology while also affording a focused, specialized research experience: n Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology (EEO): Students typically identify a faculty mentor prior to or during the application process, based on their personal research interests. n Cell, Molecular, Health, and Disease (CMHD): Students may apply to work with a specific faculty mentor, but many apply for admission to the degree track and participate in lab rotations during the first year before matching with a mentor's lab.
Outstanding Faculty Our faculty are internationally recognized leaders in their respective fields (see reverse). Some doctoral students are funded as research assistants by highly competitive extramural grants awarded to their facutly mentor, allowing them to focus full-time on their dissertation once coursework is complete.
High-Impact Research Our doctoral students participate in cutting-edge laboratory and field research on models ranging from the Zika virus to blue whales. These studies result in high-impact publications in top-tier scientific journals.
World-Class Facilities The Department of Biology is housed in the 500,000 sq. ft. Baylor Sciences Building, equipped with state-of-the art research labs, teaching technologies, and specialized analytical facilities, including: n Molecular Biosciences Center n Center for Reservoir and Aquatic Systems Research n Mass Spectrometry Center n Center for Microscopy and Imagining n Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) facility n Baylor Experimental Aquatic Research (BEAR) wetland and stream mesocosm facility
Contact Ryan S. King, PhD | Graduate Program Director Department of Biology One Bear Place #97388 | Waco, TX 76798 254-710-1750 | Ryan_S_King@baylor.edu baylor.edu/biology
BIOLOGY GRADUATE FACULTY ROBERT ADAMS (CMHD, EEO) PhD, University of Texas Systematics of Juniperus ROBERT S. BALDRIDGE (EEO) PhD, Kansas State University Parasitology, Medical Entomology MARIA BOTTAZZI (CMHD) PhD, University of Florida Vaccine Development, Tropical Disease Biology PATRICK D. DANLEY (EEO, CMHD) PhD, University of New Hampshire Evolutionary Biology, Speciation of African Cichlids ROBERT D. DOYLE (EEO) PhD, University of Maryland Wetland Ecology, Aquatic Plant Biology KEVIN GUTZWILLER (EEO) PhD, University of Wyoming Landscape Ecology, Conservation Biology WALTER HOLMES (EEO) PhD, Mississippi State University Plant Taxonomy, Medical Botany
PETER J. HOTEZ (CMHD) PhD, The Rockefeller University MD, Weill Cornell Medical College Drug and Vaccine Development, Tropical Disease Biology SANGHOON KANG (EEO, CMHD) PhD, University of Virginia Microbial Ecology CHRISTOPHER KEARNEY (CMHD) PhD, Cornell University Biotechnology, Molecular Genetics BESSIE W. KEBAARA (CMHD) PhD, University of Nebraska Microbiology RYAN S. KING (EEO) PhD, Duke University Aquatic Ecology, Ecological Statistics MYEONGWOO LEE (CMHD) PhD, Illinois State University Developmental Biology of C. elegans R. JASON PITTS (CMHD) PhD, Vanderbilt University Sensory Biology of Disease Vector Insects
THAD SCOTT (EEO) PhD, Baylor University Limnology, Aquatic Biogeochemistry CHEOLHO SIM (CMHD) PhD, University of Notre Dame Molecular Biology, Disease-Vector Mosquitos DWAYNE D. SIMMONS (CMHD) Chair and Cornelia Marschall Smith Endowed Professor of Biology PhD, Harvard University Integrative Biology and Physiology, Hearing Disorders, Neuroscience JOSEPH H. TAUBE (CMHD) PhD, University of Texas Health Sciences Center Cancer Biology STEPHEN J. TRUMBLE (EEO) PhD, University of Alaska-Fairbanks Marine Mammal Ecology and Physiology, Whale Earwax Chemical Profiles JOSEPH D. WHITE (EEO) PhD, University of Montana Ecosystem Response to Fire and Climate Change, Remote Sensing