The WWU Biology Department provides an outstanding and inclusive learning environment that integrates education, scholarship, and service, actively engages students in the biological sciences, and fosters their development as lifelong learners. Our curriculum spans subdisciplines from marine ecology to developmental genetics to bioinformatics and provides abundant opportunities for interactions with educators who are national leaders in biology education at the college level. Our curriculum is designed to help our students master fundamental biological principles in depth, learn practical lab and field skills to address a wide range of biological questions using sophisticated instrumentation, develop strong critical thinking and quantitative skills, gain confidence in communicating precisely and analytically, and engage independently and collaboratively as thoughtful and productive contributors to society.
The Arellano Lab boarding the R/V Atlantis for a research cruise along the Gulf of Mexico.
This year, we are focusing on fundraising for the general Biology fund, Joann Otto Microscopy fund, and summer support for cell and molecular graduate student fund. See below for additional information, and the opportunity to have your contribution matched when supporting the Joann Otto Microscopy fund.
General Biology Fund
A gift to the Biology Department will fund student research and travel to conferences, career networking opportunities, and a diversity of seminar speakers. We also have several important scholarships that support first-generation and underrepresented students.
Grad student Hannah Fisher conducting research in the Galati lab.
Joann Otto Microscopy Fund
Biology and WWU have acquired an impressive amount of state of the art microscopy instrumentation through grants to faculty from the National Science Foundation, and through donations to the Western Foundation. These microscopes allow super-resolution imaging of fluorescent proteins in cells, generating 4D reconstructions of proteins in cells, and high-throughput analyses of fluorescently-tagged cells. Our newest laser-scanning confocal microscope uses a laser that pulses 80 million times per second to analyze macromolecular complexes in living cells! Through course-based research experiences and faculty-led research projects, students use these microscopes to learn quantitative fluorescence microscopy and image analysis. After graduation, students leverage their microscopy skills to work in biotechnology firms, biomedical research institutes, and top-notch PhD programs. The Joann Otto Microscopy Fund supports student research and helps maintain the Biology department’s suite of research grade microscopes by purchasing new filters and brighter light sources, acquiring new image analysis software, and upgrading workstations to interface with new high-speed cameras. Ultimately, these funds allow our microscopes to remain at the cutting edge of optical light microscopy to serve the next generation of WWU students.
This year we are seeking contributions to build the endowment, and purchase a high-resolution camera for upgrading our fluorescent stereomicroscope. Contributions to grow the endowment are matched by Dr. Joann Otto and create an enduring financial legacy to support students for generations well into the future. Contributions to purchase a new high-resolution camera are matched by the College of Science and Engineering. The high-resolution camera with rapid frame-rate is needed to generate images with fluorescent tags that emit a low-level of light. This new camera will greatly enhance the capacity of our fluorescent stereomicroscope as digital images are needed for common and advanced image analyses.
Summer Support for Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Students
As you may know, our graduate students have teaching assistantships during the year to help offset the costs of graduate school. However, their summer research remains unfunded. Last year, we’ve launched a campaign to help address the summer funding gap for cell and molecular graduate students and support their critical research. Thanks to generous donations from people like you and a gift from Northwest Pathology, we met our goal and this summer are able to support our cell and molecular graduate students. For this year, our goal is to continue fundraising so we can support all our cell and molecular graduate students with $5000/student awards next summer. Gifts of every size make a difference, especially when we pool our resources!
