Department of Biology: Indiana University Bloomington

See our undergraduate degree options

We offer several B.A. and B.S. degrees in the fields of Biology, Biotechnology, Microbiology, and Molecular Life Sciences.

Pursue your graduate degree

Our graduate students conduct cutting-edge research and receive specialized training in many key research areas.

Two birds perch on a lamppost at twilight.

ERI study: Artificial light at night wakes up dormant infections in birds

IU researchers find that long-term exposure to artificial light at night causes intensification of dormant malaria infections in birds.

Craig Pikaard, recipient of the IU Bicentennial Medal, holds open the box to display the medallion.

IU Biology faculty members honored with IU Bicentennial Medal

To date, eleven faculty members from the Department of Biology have been presented with IU's Bicentennial Medal in recognition of distinguished service to Indiana University.

Close up of two ears of corn on corn stalks.

NSF awards $1.4 million to researchers to study connection between farmers, soil microbes, and drought resilience

Jen Lau and Jay Lennon are part of an interdisciplinary team of biologists, sociologists, and a historian that will investigate how human adaptation interacts with ecological adaptation in ways that might affect resilience to climate change.

The silhouettes of hundreds of Red-winged Blackbirds flying across the orange-red evening sky are seen at sunset at the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, ca 2006. By Jerry Segraves / Public domain.

Migration shapes patterns of disease transmission

Study by colleagues Daniel Becker and Ellen Ketterson of IU and Richard Hall of UGA is among the first to investigate how relapsing infections influence the seasonal timing of infection risk in migrants; new paper in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

IU's Irene Newton to co-lead collaborative team awarded $12.5 million for new NSF Biology Integration Institute

GEMS team will address the fundamental biological question: "How do symbioses unify biology, from molecule to ecosystem?"by examining the interaction between clover and honey bees as a model.

Image from the cover of Applied and Environmental Microbiology (AEM) journal July 2020, Vol 86, No 13. The cover image is a colorful drawing that serves as an analogy for the discovery of unexpected purine cross-feeding from Rhodopseudomonas palustris to Escherichia coli through transposon sequencing in a mutualistic coculture, as captioned in AEM “Among a library of E. coli transposon mutants, struggling to stay afloat in a tumultuous sea, an E. coli purine auxotroph is rescued by a purine life ring excreted by the solar-powered vessel, R. palustris."

IU biologist's artwork helps readers visualize microbial mutualistic interactions

Artwork by Jake McKinlay, associate professor of biology, was selected as the cover image of the July 2020 issue of the American Society for Microbiology's Applied and Environmental Microbiology journal.

A range of research strengths

Our faculty, research scientists, and graduate and undergraduate students are exploring everything from ecosystems to microbiology and developmental biology; evolution to cell biology; molecular biology to systems biology, bioinformatics, and genomics. Together, we explore the breadth of biological questions and experimental systems.

View our research

Expertise + scientific approach

Our faculty members are world-class researchers and teachers who share an excitement for the life sciences. The multiplicity of expertise and scientific approach, combined with our exceptional collegial culture, is what makes IU Biology stand out and has made IU a premiere place for performing research.

Meet our faculty

You are welcome here

The IU Department of Biology is a community of diverse academic scientists, students, and staff from a wide range of cultures, nationalities, races, and social backgrounds. We are committed to celebrating diversity and inclusion as well as maintaining a culture of respect and kindness.

Department of Biology

World-class teaching + research

See our undergraduate degree options

Pursue your graduate degree

ERI study: Artificial light at night wakes up dormant infections in birds

IU Biology faculty members honored with IU Bicentennial Medal

NSF awards $1.4 million to researchers to study connection between farmers, soil microbes, and drought resilience

Migration shapes patterns of disease transmission

IU's Irene Newton to co-lead collaborative team awarded $12.5 million for new NSF Biology Integration Institute

IU biologist's artwork helps readers visualize microbial mutualistic interactions

A range of research strengths

Expertise + scientific approach

You are welcome here

Ready to take the next step?

Incoming freshmen

Current IU students

Prospective graduate students

The College of Arts & Sciences

World-class teaching + research

See our undergraduate degree options

Pursue your graduate degree

ERI study: Artificial light at night wakes up dormant infections in birds

IU Biology faculty members honored with IU Bicentennial Medal

NSF awards $1.4 million to researchers to study connection between farmers, soil microbes, and drought resilience

Migration shapes patterns of disease transmission

IU's Irene Newton to co-lead collaborative team awarded $12.5 million for new NSF Biology Integration Institute

IU biologist's artwork helps readers visualize microbial mutualistic interactions

A range of research strengths

Expertise + scientific approach

You are welcome here

Ready to take the next step?

Incoming freshmen

Current IU students

Prospective graduate students

Department of Biology social media channels

The College of Arts & Sciences