BioFIRE Living & Learning Community UMD

06/04/2026

We have a new sign outside Somerset Hall!

05/13/2026

BioFIRE alum Joshua Johnson is inspiring UMD undergrads to learn about birds in his Student Initiated Course, Ornithology.

Recently dubbed the “hot-girl hobby of the year,” a new birding course at UMD filled up within minutes

05/08/2026

Very proud of our BioFIRE alum, Helen Craig, now a PhD student in Entomology!

05/08/2026

Wishing our dear friend and mentor Marsha Guenzler-Stevens a wonderful retirement! Marsha taught our first semester seminar course for many years, providing support, guidance, and encouragement to dozens of BioFIRE students during the earliest days of their college experience. We are so grateful for all the wisdom you shared with our community!

After 44 Years at UMD, Stamp Student Union Director Marsha Guenzler-Stevens to Retire in August

05/06/2026

BioFIRE senior Natalie Figueroa is featured in a Maryland Today news story about a course that connects UMD students with community organizations to address public health challenges.

It looks and feels like an internship, but these real-life projects take place in the classroom.

04/22/2026

Congratulations to Jinyi (Cornelia) Zhu, who was part of the very first BioFIRE cohort. Cornelia just earned her PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Maryland.

Jinyi “Cornelia” Zhu came to Maryland for the weather. She leaves with a B.S. in public health science, a Ph.D.

04/22/2026

So proud of all our BioFIRE students who presented their work at today's Undergraduate Research Day at UMD!

04/20/2026

BioFIRE researchers Colin Savage and Zackary Shpilman are part of a team studying a protein responsible for the overproduction of mucus in diseases like asthma. Their work is profiled in Maryland Today.

https://today.umd.edu/to-rid-body-of-asthma-and-copd-umd-researchers-hack-into-mucus-protein