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About the Major

At all levels, biology at Hamilton aims to offer a stimulating, thought-provoking experience, and classes are small. The emphasis on lab work and research gives students ample opportunities to apply what they learn outside the classroom. Many pursue summer research with professors, and all biology majors complete a research project through the Senior Program. 

Students Will Learn To:

  • Analyze and interpret original and published biological data
  • Apply the scientific method in a way that demonstrates comprehension
  • Communicate effectively about fundamental biological concepts using scientific language

A Sampling of Courses

Myrtle Spurge

Explorations in Biology: The Secret Life of Plants

A thematic course exploring five fundamental features of all biological systems, including structure and function, information flow, energy and matter, interactions, and evolution. Most ecosystems on Earth are shaped by plant life. While it may not seem like it, plants constantly do the same things we do: search for nutrients, secrete hormones, and defend themselves. In this course, we will explore the incredible adaptations plants use to survive and grow, compare these to adaptations of animals, and examine how plants provide the foundation for both ecosystems and human society.

Explore these select courses:

Biodiversity is one of our planet's most striking features, and both natural ecosystems and human society are structured by diversity in genes, species, and habitats. In lecture, we will explore global patterns of biodiversity and the biological processes driving these patterns. Additionally, we
will examine how people are threatening biodiversity across the planet, causing a new mass extinction event. For each threat to biodiversity, we will also discuss conservation and restoration strategies that can be used to protect biodiversity. In lab, we will quantify biodiversity in campus forests, and develop recommendations to guide the college's conservation and restoration efforts.

In this course we will integrate classical genetics, epigenetics, cell and molecular biology, and organismal approaches to the study of development. We will analyze a diversity of mechanisms, ranging from ones that set up pattern formation in the unfertilized egg to those governing morphogenesis of organ systems. Topics covered include embryogenesis, gene regulation, axis specification, morphogen signaling, stem cells, cloning, limb formation, and sex determination, as well as congenital defects and issues in human development.

A study of the fundamental functions of eukaryotic cells. The interrelationships of cellular structure and function, the cell cycle, protein trafficking and cellular communication will be examined through the study of neurons, the basic unit of the nervous system. Additional topics will include specialized activities of neurons. Three hours class and three hours of laboratory.

The relationship between animal behavior and disease is bidirectional: behavior can affect the likelihood of acquiring a disease, and disease can subsequently alter behavior. In this class, we examine the fundamentals of animal behavior (e.g., sexual selection, kin selection, social evolution, communication and signals, reproductive strategies) and apply them to current research on the ecology and evolution of disease. Discussion of foundational readings and the primary literature.

Study of computer-based approaches to molecular investigations: sequence variation, molecular evolution, functional and comparative genomics, and computational biology. Both literature-based lecture and training on the use of bioinformatic software are included.

Meet Our Faculty

Mike McCormick

Acting Chair and Professor of Biology, Joel W. Johnson Family Professor of Environmental Science

mmccormi@hamilton.edu

environmental geomicrobiology, specifically cell/mineral interactions; fate of environmental contaminants; solid-state respiration by bacteria; and molecular microbial ecology

Patrick Reynolds

Associate Chair, Stephen Harper Kirner Professor of Biology

preynold@hamilton.edu

Marine invertebrate biology, particularly the evolution of Mollusca

molecular biology; molecular evolution; genome structures; and bioinformatics

Julian Damashek

Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology

jdamashe@hamilton.edu

Ecology, freshwater biology, marine biology, microbiology, biogeochemistry, bioinformatics, genomics

Rhea Datta

Assistant Professor of Biology

rdatta@hamilton.edu

gene regulation; patterning and morphogenesis; transcription factors and DNA-binding; regulatory DNA; developmental genetics; molecular biology; embryology; eye development

Beth Eischen

Visiting Assistant Professor of Instruction for Biology

beischen@hamilton.edu

Peter Guiden

Assistant Professor of Biology

pguiden@hamilton.edu

climate change; invasive species; novel ecosystems; plant-animal interactions; seed predation

Ariel Kahrl

Assistant Professor of Biology

akahrl@hamilton.edu

evolutionary biology, reproductive physiology, and herpetology

cellular neurobiology and neuroethology; measurement and detection of neurotransmitters; isolation and identification of novel chemical messengers; cellular metabolism in the nervous system

Kyle Martin

Assistant Professor of Instruction Biology, Director of Microscopy

ksmartin@hamilton.edu

Microscopy, Biomedical Engineering

Nicole McDaniels

Assistant Professor of Instruction in Biology

nmcdanie@hamilton.edu

Natalie Nannas

Associate Professor of Biology

njnannas@hamilton.edu

Genetics, molecular and cellular biology, bioethics, meiotic and mitotic chromosome segregation, spindle dynamics, fluorescence microscopy and live imaging

Noelle Relles

Assistant Professor of Instruction in Biology

nrelles@hamilton.edu

biochemistry, genetics, and ecology labs; subject matter expert for McGraw Hill Education in physical and biological sciences

Jason Townsend

Assistant Professor of Instruction in Biology

jtownsen@hamilton.edu

conservation biology, agroecology, ornithology, Nearctic-Neotropical migratory birds, and ecotoxicology

Andrea Townsend

Chair and Associate Professor of Biology

aktownse@hamilton.edu

behavioral ecology, disease ecology

Careers After Hamilton

Hamilton graduates who concentrated in biology are pursuing careers in a variety of fields, including:

  • Zoology Professor, Ohio Wesleyan University
  • VP Investments, Smith Barney
  • Cinematographer/ Microbiologist, Wilderness Film & Video Productions
  • Editor, Horticulture Magazine
  • Dean for Translational Biomedical Sciences, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
  • Orthopedic Surgeon
  • Chief, Post Conviction Unit, Philadelphia District Attorneys Office
  • Director, Wildlife Conservation Society
  • Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology, UCLA
  • Senior Policy and Research Analyst, Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues

Explore Hamilton Stories

From left to right: Bri Padilla ’25, Will Burns ’24, Naima Akter ’24, Prof. Natalie Nannas, and Kayli Franco ’25 in the biology research lab.

Nannas, Students Replicate Genetic Anomalies

Genetic inheritance might seem straightforward enough. Middle schoolers around the country learn the formulaic predictions of Punnett Squares, and for the most part, the science appears cut-and-dry. Chromosomes passed on through sperm or eggs have a 50-50 shot at inheritance. Right?

Andrea Townsend

Is Brain Fog Limited to Humans?

As Associate ProfessorĀ of Biology Andrea Townsend was investigating how infectious disease affects the problem-solving performance of American crows, she was surprised to discover how few studies compared the effects of disease on cognition in other species.

Contact

Department Name

Biology Department

Contact Name

Mike McCormick, Acting Chair

Office Location
198 College Hill Road
Clinton, NY 13323

Help us provide an accessible education, offer innovative resources and programs, and foster intellectual exploration.

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