Alumni Newsletter Winter 2026

Winter 2026

Faculty, Research

Bringing expansion microscopy to plants

The way we study plant cells is expanding — literally — thanks to new research from Kevin Cox, an assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and an assistant member of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. In a new study published in The Plant Journal, Cox and his team describe how they have developed ExPOSE (Expansion Microscopy in Plant Protoplast Systems), a technique that brings expansion microscopy to plants.

Table of Contents

Message from the Chair

Greetings from the Biology Department at WashU!

While it was a challenging year for American higher education, the biology department enjoyed a fantastic 2025 thanks to the dedication and resilience of our amazing community.

An unprecedented seven biology faculty members—across all career stages—received Maximizing Investigators’ Research Awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Collectively, these grants total nearly $22 million. This remarkable success speaks to the extraordinary talent and innovative research of our faculty. In other major achievements, Dr. Yehuda Ben-Shahar was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a distinctive honor from one of the world’s largest scientific societies. Dr. Erik Herzog was selected to serve as the Editor-in-Chief for the prestigious Journal of Biological Rhythms (the official journal of the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms) starting in January. Dr. Joan Strassmann published a new book entitled, The Social Lives of Birds, and Dr. Jonathan Losos co-authored a new book entitled, Feline: Photographs.

Our research and teaching faculty landed multiple awards, underscoring our reputation for impactful scientific breakthroughs and outstanding education.

  • Craig Smith received the 2025 Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award, one of St. Louis region’s most recognized teaching honors.
  • Tony Smith received the 2025 Dean’s Outstanding Teaching Award for exceptional achievement in teaching.
  • Jonathan Losos received the 2025 David Hadas Teaching Award for outstanding commitment and excellence in teaching first-year undergraduate students.
  • Kevin Cox received the 2025 Eric E. Conn Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Plant Biologists.
  • Ram Dixit received the Fellows Award for Outstanding Achievement in Science from the Academy of Science – St. Louis.

Not to be outdone, our undergraduate students Kaushal Parimi and Kate Choi were selected to receive the 2025 Gerry and Bob Virgil Ethic of Service Award, which recognizes their exemplary service and engagement with the St. Louis community.

Looking ahead, we are excited to welcome Drs.  James Holehouse and Merlijn Staps as assistant professors of biology in Fall 2026. They were hired as part of a joint initiative between the departments of biology, chemistry, and physics to create a hub of world-class researchers using theory, artificial intelligence, and data science to address fundamental biological questions. Dr. Holehouse is a computational biologist who works on understanding the universal principles of regulation in biological and social systems. Dr. Staps is a theorist who develops mathematical tools to study the evolution of multicellularity, colony organization in social insects, and vertebrate color patterns.

Wishing you a wonderful New Year!

Ram