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Dept. of Biology
30 N. Brainard St.
Naperville, IL 60540
(630) 637-5181
New microbiologist joins Biology
Dr. Lavinia Gonzalez-Aparicio is the newest member of the Biology faculty and will join us Fall 2025! Dr. Gonzalez-Aparicio has a PhD from Washington University and studies the diversity of genome variants during negative-sense RNA virus replication.
CREATE program provides scholarships for STEM education
North Central's CREATE program provides scholarships, mentoring, and support for students preparing to be STEM teachers in high-needs schools.
Major NSF grant awarded to Joanna Weremijewicz!
Plant ecologist Joanna Weremijewicz has been awarded a $700,000 CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation for her work on The Role of Common Mycorrhizal Networks in the Establishment, Environmental Change, and Persistence of an Invasive Plant Species in the Tallgrass Prairie]]>. This prestigious award recognizes Joanna as an early-career faculty member with potential to serve as an academic role model in research and education.
We love undergraduate research opportunities!
Students become biologists as they engage in research with faculty mentors. Stipends are available for full-time research in our summer program (learn more and apply here), or students can do research for course credit during the academic year. Capstone courses also offer a taste of research through independent projects.
Home of the Biology Department
Our immersive, research-rich biology and biochemistry programs are located in the Wentz Science Center--come check us out!
Tri-Beta trip to Starved Rock
Tri-Beta, our biology honor society, sponsored a trip to Starved Rock State Park to see waterfalls and spring flowers.
Field Courses
North Central students interested in fields such as ecology, botany and zoology have opportunities to work in the field at local or remote sites. Pictured here are Greg Ruthig and his students, who traveled to Africa for a recent field course, Natural History of Bioko Island.
First-year research in BIOL 195
NCC Biology majors engage in genuine research from their first day. In BIOL 195, first-semester freshmen and transfers investigate West Nile virus in local mosquitoes. Here, they're presenting posters on their work at the end of the semester.
Students receive research grant
Lauren Bode (left) and Ana Cvetkovic received a $500 grant from the Illinois State Academy of Sciences to provide supplies to support their research with Dr. Greg Ruthig on water molds that infect amphibian eggs.
Be a citizen scientist!
North Central College is a partner in the Chicago Botanical Garden's budburst project, a citizen-scientist project to monitor effects of a changing climate on plants in our area.
Research presentations
Summer research students are pictured presenting their work at our annual Fall semester poster session, the culminating event in our annual Summer Undergraduate Research Colloquium (SURC). Students may also present the results of their research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR or at regional or national professional conferences.
NCC is a Level One arboretum
ArbNet has approved North Central College as a Level One Arboretum. A campus-wide tree survey conducted by student researchers collaborating with Biology faculty was instrumental in achieving this designation.
NCC students publish and present!
Ana Cvetkovic, Prerana Shrestha, and Lauren Bode published their research on a frog die-off due to amphibian pathogens and presented their work at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
NSF grant support for NCC students
Two grants awarded by the National Science Foundation will provide valuable support for NCC students. An NSF S-STEM grant created our Leadership Experience and Advancement Program in STEM (LEAPS), providing scholarships up to $10,000 to Pell-eligible STEM students. An NSF-Noyce grant enabled our Commitment to Recruit, Educate, and Assist Teachers in Equity (CREATE) project (faculty sponsors pictured) to provide scholarships and support for students pursuing secondary education careers in STEM.
Research-rich advanced courses
Advanced elective courses taken during junior and senior years often include projects where the outcomes are not known. Some projects can even lead to publications, such as the paper in Mycorrhyza authored by students in a 300-level plant course.
Meet the NCC Biology faculty
There's a reason why our faculty chose a small, liberal-arts college: we are here to interact with students! We are here to talk to you about course material, research, planning, careers and more. Get to know your faculty, and let them become your mentors!
Our Mission: The Biology Department strives for excellence in undergraduate education by providing a challenging and supportive environment for students to: (1) understand and apply a broad range of biological principles; (2) develop critical thinking, investigative and communication skills through course work and collaborative research; and (3) become engaged, ethical scientists and citizens equipped to purposefully choose careers in an increasingly technological world.