University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences

Molecular Cellular Biology Building East Bank

The College of Biological Sciences at the University of Minnesota is one of the few colleges nationwide devoted to biological sciences. It conducts research on a range of applications in human health, agriculture, biotechnology and environmental sciences.[2] College of Biological Sciences undergraduates have historically ranked highly at the University of Minnesota, with the 2008 incoming freshman class having the highest class rank and ACT scores of any college within the university system.[3]

In 1887, the Animal Science Department was established in the College of Science, Letters, and Arts, followed by the Botany Department being created in 1891. Eight years later, the Lake Itasca Forestry and Biological Station was established with a forestry training program. It is now the site for the "Nature of Life" program CBS students must attend for four days in the summer before their freshman year. Then the Agricultural Biochemistry Department was formed within the Institute of Agriculture. In 1928, Snyder Hall, named for agricultural scientist Harry Snyder, was built to house Agricultural Biochemistry. Snyder Hall is now the headquarters for CBS, located on the St. Paul campus. In 1973, the Biological Sciences Center was built to house the botany department and the Genetics and Cell Biology Department.[4]

In 1993, the Ecology Building was constructed on the St. Paul campus. Two years later, administration of the Bell Museum was transferred to the College of Natural Resources. In 1998, Dean Robert Elde led a university-wide reorganization to consolidate and realign departments in order to strengthen biological sciences and raise the university's national standing. The College of Biological Sciences’ (CBS) current structure grew out of that effort.[4]

In 2001, Biodale opened, offering biological research support services to faculty, students, and industry. It is currently one of the most used resources on the University's campus. In 2004, University Enterprise Laboratories, Inc. was dedicated. Founding sponsors included Xcel Energy, the City of St. Paul, the University of Minnesota, 3M, Medtronic, Dorsey & Whitney, Surmodics, Guidant, Boston Scientific, and Ecolab.[5]

The College of Biological Sciences shares several researches, education and outreach facilities.

Biodale, CBS's resource for research support services, houses $40 million in bioscience research equipment that is available to faculty and industry scientists.[4]

The Cargill Building for Microbial and Plant Genomics provides a hub for genomics researchers university-wide. Faculty conducts basic research in functional genomics of microbes and crop plants to identify innovative ways to make crops more resistant to disease and drought, clean up the environment, and improve human health.

The Molecular and Cellular Biology Building was opened in 2002 on the Minneapolis campus and houses classrooms and labs. It is home to the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics and the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development.

Headwaters of the Mississippi near Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories on Lake Itasca

University Enterprise Laboratories (UEL) is a non-profit entity that provides lab space for biotech start-up companies. Sponsors include Xcel Energy, 3M, Allina, Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Dorsey & Whitney, Ecolab, Guidant Corporation, and Surmodics.

Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories established in 1909, houses many buildings for research as well as the summer portion of the freshman program, "Nature of Life" which all incoming CBS freshman must attend before entering their first year at the university. This portion of Nature of Life prepares students for the upcoming year and gives them an idea of one of the research facilities provided by CBS and the university. The program continues for the next 4 semesters, during which each enrolled student is expected to fully immerse themselves into CBS and university-wide events and communities.[6]

Other research facilities include Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, the Ecology Building, Plant Growth Facilities such as the CBS Conservatory and Botanical Collection, and Snyder Hall/Gortner Laboratories/Biological Sciences Center complex.

In 1995, Edward B. Lewis (B.S. '39) received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovery of the collinearity principle in fruit flies, which revealed that the linear arrangement of genes on a chromosome corresponds to the development of body segments. The finding was later confirmed in humans.

In 1997, Paul D. Boyer won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of how cells make adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Boyer was on the faculty of the biochemistry department from 1945–1957.

G. David Tilman is the current director of Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve and member of the National Academy of Sciences. He is currently the most cited ecologist in the Web of Science database.[7]

• Biochemistry (BIOC)[8]
• Biology (BIOL)[9]
• Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB)[10]
• Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development (GCD)[11]
• Microbiology (MICB)[12]
• Neuroscience (NSC)[13]
• Plant and Microbial Biology (PMB)[14]
• Cellular and Organismal Physiology (COP)[15]

• Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics (BMBB)
• Ecology, Evolution and Behavior (EEB)
• Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology, and Genetics (MCDB&G)
• Plant Biological Sciences

In addition to the Nobel Prize winners for Physiology and biochemistry, other important research projects have been conducted by the university and CBS. Being a research based college, faculty and students often use related opportunities to research a variety of topics.[17]

• MCDB&G Faculty Research
• BMBB Faculty Research
• EEB Faculty Research

• University of Minnesota
• List of University of Minnesota people
• University of Minnesota Medical Center

• "UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, U.S.;Researchers from University of Minnesota, U.S., report recent findings".17 March 2007
• "A Smart Start For Bioscience", St. Paul Pioneer Press, 10 October 2004: B10
• Breining Greg, Hoff Mary, Peterson Smith Terri, Rinard Peggy, "Star Search", College of Biological Science BIO, Fall 2005, Vol 4 No.2
• "The Wildest Classroom in Minnesota." Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories. 26 Mar. 2007. Regents of the University of Minnesota. 7 May 2007.<http://cbs.umn.edu/itasca/>
• University of Minnesota, College of Biological Sciences
• University Catalogs

• University of Minnesota, College of Biological Sciences