Biology

You can pursue a variety of options through the biology department at Kean.

Our bachelor of arts degrees in biology train students to teach high school biology (B.A. Biology Education and the B.A. Biology Education Teacher of Students with Disabilities) while the B.A. Biology general option provide the foundation in biology for any number of different career pathways and is the most flexible degree option to accommodate transfer credits for students who started college elsewhere prior to coming to Kean. The B.A. Biology general  is available either as an in-person degree or as an online degree. The online degree is NOT recommended however for students who plan to pursue careers working in scientific laboratories or who plan to apply for graduate school or any type of clinical degree such as medical school, PA school, PT school or related. Indeed, as biology is a discipline of study involving laboratory skills, in-person biology degree students must take biology lab courses in person.

The B.S. Biology degree is ideal for students looking to enter the job market or pursue advanced graduate or professional degrees within the areas of biotechnology, molecular biology, biomedical research, microbiology, medicine and health-related clinical fields. The B.S. Biology/Cell & Molecular option is best for students who plan to apply for M.S. or Ph.D. programs, as well as those who are pre-med, pre-vet, pre-pharm, pre-dental, or pre-optometry. The B.S. Biology/Health Professions option is geared for those who wish to apply to graduate programs in physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language, or physician’s assistant.  

The B.S. Biology/Forensic Science blends the study of criminal justice with forensic investigation and analysis of biologic samples. 

The biology department also houses the B.S. Medical Lab Science (formerly Med Tech) and B.S. Clinical Lab Science degree programs as well as the B.S. Health Information Management (HIM) degree.

There are minors in Biology, as well as Forensic Science and even Bioinformatics.

Faculty:

Salvatore Coniglio, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Carisa Davis, Ph.D., Lecturer
Maria Gemmellaro, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Renalison Farias-Pereira, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Lucas Kirby, Ph.D., Lecturer   
Brenna Levine, Ph.D., Assistant Professor       
Laura Lorentzen, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Nancy Lafleur, Ph.D., Lecturer   
Sara Maass-Meyer, Lecturer
Sasmita Mishra, Ph.D., Lecturer
Matther Niepielko, Ph.D., Assistant Professor 
Maria Shumskaya, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Kim Spaccarotella, Ph.D., Assistant Professor         
Adriana Tagliaferro, Ph.D., Lecturer       
Evros Vassiliou, Ph.D., Associate Professor

Also: Jesus Ballesteros Chavez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor; Assistant Professor; Kerrylynn Konecny, Lecturer; Rongsun Pu, D.Phil, Associate Professor; Kristie Reilly, Ph.D., Professor; Cecil "Jake" Saunders, Ph.D., Assistant Professor; Roxie James, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Xiaobo Yu, Ph.D., Professor