Genetics

Genes affect our development, our health, and even aspects of our behaviors and personalities. DNA is the foundation of all life on Earth, yet each organism has unique genetic characteristics and functions. Genetics provides a common link between species that help us to identify shared traits and history, furthering our understanding of the fundamental properties of life, and can lead to discoveries that benefit health, society, and the environment.

About the Major

The Genetics major offers a foundation in biological principles with specialized courses in genetics at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels.  As a Genetics major, you learn to identify, alter, or manage the fundamental molecular and cellular properties of life.

Keywords: medicine, health careers, gene therapy, genetic engineering, biotechnology, advanced research, laboratory science, pharmaceutical areas, heredity, ancestry research,  genetic counseling.

Other majors in the Biological Sciences:

Botany Biology Biochemistry
Zoology Microbiology Neuroscience
Environment & Sustainability Health & Human Kinetics  

Related Minors

Think Big

At OWU, Genetics majors have opportunities to participate in distinctive learning and field experiences. You could find yourself collaborating with a professor on innovative research, co-authoring a report on study results, and attending and presenting at a conference.

Ohio Wesleyan's Summer Scholarship and Research Program (SSRP) is an intensive 10-week research experience. Participants work side-by-side with a professor and present research results at the concluding college-wide symposium.

 

Research & Independent Study Spring Student Symposium

Healthy Curiosity

Julien DeFelice '26 & Sophia Rohr '27 studied squid eggs for antifungal treatments.

More Than Squid Games

Doyi Kim '27 researched if bacteria protecting squid eggs have antimicrobials.

Future Physician-Scientist

Andy Weisgerber '27 researched cystic fibrosis as a CFF fellow in Alabama this summer.

Therapeutic Target

Haleigh Stover '25 (left) and Evan Lucas '26 researched cell membrane composition.

Fight Brain Disease

Sydney Quinn '19 studied fruit flies to identify genes that respond to brain damage.

Examining Viability

"Lauren Kiebler '16 and Alyssa Richter '17 studied gene mutations in roundworms.

Go Global

At OWU, you connect the classroom and the real world. A Theory-to-Practice Grant could fund your original research, internship, or creative project anywhere in the world.

You can bring learning to life and apply for a grant to expand and enhance your undergraduate experience. 

Theory-To-Practice Grants

Infant Mental Health in NZ

Cindy Huynh '19 and Mollie Marshall '19 studied drug use's effects on newborns.

Get Real

Build your experience and connections to the professional world with internships at research centers, universities, and other organizations.

Recent OWU students have completed internships and received small grants to synthesize their studies. 

internships signature projects the small grant program

Immersive Internship

Kelsea Cooper '26 interned with the Center for Tobacco Research at The Ohio State University.

Nationwide Children's Hospital Research

Jack Mauter '21 studied with Mitchell Grayson of the Department of Allergy and Immunology.

Research at Mississippi State University

Joseph Emerson '19 studied at the Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing & Biotechnology.

Creating Happy Campers

Cindy Huynh '19 interned at the Galileo Innovation Summer Camp in Culver City, CA.

Highlights

Summer Research

Students have the opportunity to engage full-time in cutting-edge research with faculty mentors at OWU, with free on-campus housing and a generous stipend for 10 weeks in the summer. Students go on to present their findings at an all-college scientific symposium and often also at national and international conferences.

State of the Art

Our labs are equipped to support a wide diversity of molecular and cellular level study, including PCR, qPCR, and protein biochemistry. We have sophisticated microscopy equipment, such as a confocal microscope for high-resolution fluorescent imaging and a Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope for even higher resolution images. These are accessible to both students and faculty for courses and advanced independent research. At OWU, multiple organisms are studied at the genetic level, including worms, fruit flies, plants, bacteria, and yeast.

Interdisciplinary Studies

Ohio Wesleyan offers an uncommonly wide range of options for the study of biology, because it is one of only a few small colleges with two closely integrated life science departments: Botany & Microbiology and Zoology. This structure allows our program to offer a larger diversity of specialty courses in sub-disciplines across the biological sciences than do many other schools of our size.

Local Opportunities

In addition to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities on campus, there are also two museum facilities that serve the program: a museum for Zoology and a herbarium for Botany and Microbiology. The Kraus and Bohannan nature preserves, 80 and 50 acres respectively, are close to campus. Several other nearby facilities within easy driving range provide internship opportunities, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture Laboratories, nearby hospitals, Stratford Ecological Center, Ohio Wildlife Center, veterinary clinics, and the Columbus Zoo.

Graduate Outcomes

Margaret Michicich '19

After graduating, Margaret was accepted into the Ph.D. program in Biomedical Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. While at OWU, Margaret participated in Travel-Learning Courses in East Africa and the Galapagos Islands and conducted summer research at S.C. Johnson and Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

Honored Geneticist

Ram Samudrala '93 graduated with majors in Genetics and Computer Science. He earned his Ph.D. in Computational Structural Biology at the Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology in Rockville, MD, and completed an NSF postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford with Michael Levitt (Nobel prize in Chemistry, 2013). In 2014, he became Professor and Chief of the Division of Bioinformatics at the State University of New York, Buffalo. He has received numerous scientific awards and has published more than 115 manuscripts in a variety of journals, including Science, Nature, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Reconnecting with OWU

Jacob Kagey '04 earned his B.A. in Genetics from OWU and his Ph.D. in Genetics and Molecular Biology from Emory University. Currently an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Detroit Mercy, in 2020 he received a $300,000 NSF grant to expand undergraduate research experience opportunities for students at other colleges, including Ohio Wesleyan.

Diverse Careers

OWU biological science graduates are working around the globe in highly varied fields. Examples of employment include: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chemical Abstracts Service, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Mayo Clinic, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Ohio Seed Improvement Association, Tiger Optics.

Graduate Study

Recent biological science grads are attending graduate programs at the following universities: Auburn, Case Western Reserve, Cornell, George Washington, Michigan State, Pennsylvania State, Purdue, Ohio State, Vanderbilt, and Bren Fellow, Rio de Janeiro.

Department Contact Info

Location

Schimmel/Conrades Science Center 201
Ohio Wesleyan University
Delaware, OH 43015

P 740-368-3907
F 740-368-3999
E almoore@owu.edu

Department Contacts

Chair: Dustin Reichard
Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences
Schimmel/Conrades Science Center 312
740-368-2890 |  dgreicha@owu.edu

Academic Assistant: Angela Moore
Schimmel/Conrades Science Center 201
740-368-3907 | almoore@owu.edu