A man examining the soil and vegetation by a natural water source.

School of Life Sciences News

Life sciences involves studies of living organisms and their life processes, including their evolution and relationships with other living organisms and our planet. The courses and programs offered by the School of Life Sciences are designed for those students pursuing professional careers in medicine, science, and science education.

Current Life Sciences News

man in white coat using lab equipment
Research |

Benjy Sedano-Herrera is finding international success through his research in a UNLV Life Sciences lab and his networking outside of it.

Martin Schiller Lab
People |

Professor Marty Schiller talks about his business and how UNLV made it possible.

Spring Flowers (Becca Schwartz)
Campus News |

A roundup of the top news stories featuring UNLV students and faculty.

two women in graduation gowns with "UNLV Latinx" Stolls
Research |

UNLV-led grant project creates a hub for faculty across the country to share resources, learn, and collaborate with each other.

UNLV professor standing in lab with computer screen in front of him
Research |

International team explores how our cells detect and destroy disease-causing proteins with specificity; findings published Feb. 20 in the journal Molecular Cell.

a man at a table with a microscope and open book
UNLV History |

The late biology professor documented the history of Southern Nevada through its plants.

Life Sciences In The News

DOGO News

The Big Basin Redwood State Park in Santa Cruz, California, is home to some of the tallest and oldest redwood trees on Earth. The towering trees reach heights of over 300 feet (91 m) and have an incredibly thick bark. This natural armor usually protects their upper branches and needles from wildfire damage. However, the CZU Lightning Complex Fire that burned 97 percent of the park in August 2020, was so intense that it even scorched these ancient giants.

Yahoo!

Three years after a wildfire burned 97% of California's Big Basin Redwoods State Park, the forest — or at least several parts of it — is making a remarkable resurgence. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported on the new developments in the park, citing researchers who spoke at a scientific symposium hosted by environmental nonprofit Santa Cruz Mountains Bioregional Council.

The Cool Down

Three years after a wildfire burned 97% of California's Big Basin Redwoods State Park, the forest — or at least several parts of it — is making a remarkable resurgence. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported on the new developments in the park, citing researchers who spoke at a scientific symposium hosted by environmental nonprofit Santa Cruz Mountains Bioregional Council.

Newswise

Drylands, found across every continent, cover about 45% of the Earth's land surface and support 38% of the human population. In these regions, precipitation is low and evaporation rates are typically high, leading to an arid or semi-arid climate. Due to scarce water resources and sparse vegetation, drylands present formidable challenges for agriculture and human habitation. As the climate continues to warm, drylands are rapidly expanding.

Mirage News

Caltech researchers have discovered a new class of enzymes that enable a myriad of bacteria to "breathe" nitrate when in low-oxygen conditions. While this is an evolutionary advantage for bacterial survival, the process produces the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) as a byproduct, the third-most potent greenhouse gas, after carbon dioxide and methane.

KTNV-TV: ABC 13

At the Center for Urban Water Conservation, you’ll find over 500 fruit trees, grapevines, herb gardens and vegetable beds. It's the Research Garden & Demonstration Orchard for University of Nevada Extension, which also works in partnership with UNLV.

Life Sciences Experts

An expert on hibernation, pupfish, evolution, and cellular biology.
An expert in bioinformatics, virology, AIDS/HIV, Alzheimer's disease, and genetics.
An expert in conservation biology, phylogeography, and ecology.  
An expert in ecology, fire management, and U.S. National Parks.
Nora Caberoy is an expert on eye diseases, specifically the factors and pathways associated with damage of the retina. 
An expert on bacterial gene regulation and bacterial pathogens, including E. coli, Shigella, and Salmonella. 

Recent Life Sciences Accomplishments

Kelly Tseng and students Belen Gutierrez, Jose Guerra, Iris Nava, and Ashley Fitzpatrick (Life Sciences), in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of researchers from University of Colorado Boulder and Western Michigan University published an article titled, "Construction of a Static Magnetic Field Exposure Apparatus for Aqueous Model…
Ph.D. student April Wallace (Life Sciences) has been awarded a Graduate Student Research Award from the Botanical Society of America for her proposal, "Exploring shikimate pathway disruption as a possible intrinsic isolating barrier in trees." This $1,500 award will be used to determine if disruption of a key biochemical pathway in…
Helen J. Wing (Life Sciences) received a new NIH award — a diversity supplement to support the training of Ph.D. candidate Elizabeth Huezo. The award (totaling $149, 536) will supplement Wing's active R15-05 award and runs until the end of the current project period (November 2026).
Kelly Tseng (Life Sciences) was a speaker at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Developmental Biology. Her talk was titled, "Probing Conserved Regenerative Pathways in Embryonic Eye Regrowth." She presented her research group's findings on the mechanisms regulating eye stem cells and regeneration.
An undergraduate student researcher in the laboratory of Kelly Tseng (Life Sciences), Karla Akari Garcia (Nevada State University) won the 3rd Place Award for Best Undergraduate Poster Presentation at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Developmental Biology in Atlanta, Georgia. Garcia presented her research findings on identifying…
Jack P. Marshall, Emily Marinko, Amber To, Jilian L. Morejon, Ritika Joshi, Allen G. Gibbs, Matthew R. Meiselman (all Life Sciences) published a manuscript in Scientific Reports: Circadian regulation of locomotion, respiration, and arousability in adult deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis).