FALL 2026

Entering my third year as chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, I continue to be energized by the people, ideas and opportunities that make our department such a vibrant community. The start of a new academic year always brings renewed energy as our classrooms and laboratories come back to life and new Tigers become part of the Clemson Family.

This fall is especially exciting as we welcome approximately 430 incoming first-year students in biological sciences and microbiology. They join Clemson’s Class of 2030 following another highly competitive admissions cycle, and we are thrilled that biological sciences remains one of the University’s most popular intended majors. These students bring new curiosity, ambition and perspectives to our department, and we look forward to helping them discover where the life sciences can take them.

Keep reading below for more great news about discoveries led by our faculty, the accomplishments of our students, new members of our community and the many ways BioSci continues to make an impact at Clemson and beyond.

Thank you for the many ways you support BioSci — through mentorship, collaboration, philanthropy and advocacy. I’m excited for another great year together.

Go Tigers!

Daniel Jones

Assistant professor Daniel Jones has received a five-year, $1.6 million National Science Foundation CAREER award to study gene duplication in the sunflower family.

Jones is studying one of the world’s largest and most diverse plant families to explore natural variation in conserved genetic pathways, insights that could ultimately help improve plant growth and development.

Anna Seekatz and Clara Flores.

Does it matter where your carbs come from? The latest lab research by biological sciences Ph.D. student Clara Flores and associate professor Anna Seekatz explores how the diversity of carbohydrates from complex starches (like corn, wheat and potato) to simple sugars (like glucose, fructose and sucrose) affect the gut microbiome. 

Mercy Crapps

Elizabeth (Mercy) Crapps, a National Scholar and recent graduate from Tallahassee, Florida, was selected for a Fulbright teaching assistantship in the Canary Islands in Spain. Crapps plans to use her background in fostering critical thinking, creating engaging learning environments, tailoring instruction to individuals and building trust to create a student-centered learning approach for elementary and middle school students learning English.

Matthew Koski received a $1.2 million grant from the Human Frontier Science Program to investigate how flowers regulate temperature under climate stress. 

Julia George, David Clayton and Prakrit Subba found evidence that zebra finch embryos respond to special heat-related calls made by their parents, changing the development of blood vessels in the brain before they hatch.

Casey Youngflesh is using satellite images of Adélie penguin colonies and their guano to determine what they eat— and how changes in sea ice are affecting the Antarctic’s food web.

Lesly Temesvari was interviewed on WCNC Charlotte to discusses the latest research on the sources of the cyclospora outbreak and the difficulties in pinpointing them. 

At the beginning of the Fall semester, the University announced the tenure and promotion of seven faculty in Biological Sciences.

 Zhicheng Dou, David Feliciano, Vincent Richards, Sharon Bewick, Emily Rosowski, Anna Seekatz and Lorena Endara.

Biological sciences major Avery Radwinsky and microbiology major Prasamsa Tatineni have been named as two of the 12 2026 Dixon Global Policy Scholars.

Three biological sciences majors win national scholarships to study abroad! Sahyana Arnder will study in France, Bella Jones will study in Hungary and Alanna Gray will study in Australia.

Visit the Department of Biological Sciences website