The safety and well-being of our community is our highest priority. We know the recent news and allegations are deeply concerning, and we are committed to a safe environment for all. For more information, please see the official Cornell University statements.

Alert Close
Cornell seal
Back

Discover CALS

See how our current work and research is bringing new thinking and new solutions to some of today's biggest challenges.

Two women review an apple tree in an orchard

Research

We accelerate purpose-driven science by supporting inquiry that crosses disciplinary boundaries and stretches from discovery to invention.

Purpose-driven science? We literally wrote the book on it.

The first undergraduate textbooks in mammology, ornithology and food science? Check. The first successful integration of botany and zoology in 1967’s Biological Science? Check. A 1925 handbook of nature study that is still a primary resource on the subject? Check.

The research of Cornell CALS scientists, students and staff hasn’t just informed discovery and innovation, but it is also the foundation upon which fields of study have been built.

In this section

Undergraduate research

Discovering new genes

Cameron Xu ’26 is using biometry and statistics to help Cornell CALS animal science professor Vimal Selvaraj identify new genes. Together, they’re investigating how steroid hormones regulate the body’s processes, uncovering new knowledge that could advance cancer research and solve other human health challenges.

Explore synthetic biology at CALS
Play CALS Undergraduate Research Experience: Cameron Xu '26

Latest news, discoveries and breakthroughs

Explore the work we’re doing today and discover how it’s reshaping tomorrow.

gene editing

News

New technique holds promise for improved gene editing

A new engineered gene editing system addresses some of the limitations of current gene editing tools with the hope of improving their use for research, for better crops or to treat diseases.

  • Microbiology
Coral on the seafloor off the coast of Curaçao

News

Sea change: WildFin aims to improve fish behavior analysis in the wild

A doctoral student and a team of Cornell researchers and colleagues created WildFin, a data set composed of nine hours of video that they labeled frame-by-frame with fish behaviors.

  • Computational Biology
  • Animals
  • Fish
Oarfish

News

Mysterious oarfish’s fins inspire large underwater robot design

Oarfish, giant fish rarely spotted by humans, have hundreds of unique dorsal fin rays, which help propel the fish forward.

  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Fish
View more news & stories
Research in lab

Undergraduate opportunities

Plant Science researchers working in a lab.
Graduate student grants

Opportunities include Andrew W. Mellon Student Research Grants, Arthur Boller Research Fund, Kieckhefer Adirondack Fellowships and Grant Proposal Application Instructions

researcher in field

Faculty research support