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Last week’s CSUNposium was another good showing for the Biology Department, with many Biology grad students and undergraduate researchers recognized for presenting their project results. (See below for a list!) Elsewhere in the Department, the Ecology and Evolution BS program refreshes its focus, MBGSA hosts a Distinguished Visiting Speaker for the colloquium seminar, and preparations ramp up for the 2026 commencement celebrations.
This week’s meeting of the Educational Policy Committee approved a potentially big change to the BS program in Ecology and Evolution: starting in Fall 2027 it will become Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, reflecting new curriculum offerings focused protecting biodiversity.
The Biology Colloquium seminar series continues this week with a presentation by Dan Levitan, a professor of Biology at Florida State University. Dr. Levitan studies the ecology and evolution of marine invertebrates, and he is visiting campus as a guest of the Marine Biology Graduate Student Association, with support from the Distinguished Visiting Speaker program. His talk will be titled “The influence of sperm availability on the ecology and evolution of corals and sea urchins.” Colloquium seminars are held this semester at 2:30pm in Chaparral Hall room 5125.
Celebrate the successes of 2026 graduates
It’s time to start planning for 2026 Commencement festivities!
- Faculty whose student mentees have received awards, especially extramural honors and scholarships, should let Sarah Cohen know to include them in plans for the Honors Reception on at 10:30am Friday, May 15.
- Master’s students graduating in Fall 2025, Spring 2026, or Summer 2026 should also RSVP using this form to join in the first-ever Biology Department graduate hooding ceremony as part of the Honors Reception.
- Graduating seniors are encouraged to share their stories as part of this year’s CSUN Grad Story survey.
Prizewinning CSUNposium presenters
Dozens of CSUN Biology students presented project plans and results at the 2026 CSUNposium last Friday, and many of them won recognition as the best in their talk and poster sections. Marine Barsegyan, Andro Filabs and Emily Mumdzhyan, Amy Arvind Amanat Gharial, Eva Greco, Charlson Lee, Darlene Mendez, Emily (Rose) Pittman and Kayla Cortez, and Anastaia Shimek all won first place in their talk sections. Everardo Jauregui, Alex Mendelson, Thomas Riffle, Varshini Sudhakar, and Kirsten Zornado won second place in their talk sections. Poster presentations by Daniel Aguilar; Lilit Aivazian; Zara Amrin, Jennifer Hu; Vania Khorrami, Jeanne Rhode, Hermoni Douglas and Kaitlyn Bryant; Ebony Lubin; and Chimdindu Manafa all won first place in their poster groups.