生命科学学学院生物学、生态学学科自2017年入选甘肃省“寒旱区地理生态与资源”特色学科群以来，学院党政领导班子及学科与学术委员会通过顶层设计、重点突破、统筹分配、项目竞争、注重培育、绩效激励等扶持机制，累计投入200余万元特色学科建设专项资金，全面扶持优势特色科研团队和青年学术骨干，努力培育产出高水平科研成果。经过近两年的积极建设，我院科技创新团队建设、青年学术骨干培育和高水平科技成果产出等特色学建设工作初见成效。
宁应之教授、陈凌云博士课题组系列研究成果《Systematic Studies on the Hypotrich Ciliate, Tachysoma pellionellum (Müller, 1773) Borror, 1972 (Protozoa, Ciliophora) Based on Integrative Analyses: Morphology, Morphogenesis and Molecular Phylogeny》、《Morphology, morphogenesis, and phylogeny of an Anteholosticha intermedia (Ciliophora, Urostylida) population from the United States》、《Integrative Studies on the Morphology, Morphogenesis and Molecular Phylogeny of a Soil Ciliate Parakahliella macrostoma》、《土壤纤毛虫群落对不同退还模式生态恢复的响应》、《甘南高寒草甸土壤纤毛虫对磷酸氢二铵添加的响应》、《黑河干流纤毛虫群落组成及其对水质的响应》、《放牧对沼泽化草甸土壤纤毛虫群落的影响》等先后在《European Journal of Protistology》（IF=2.430，生物3区）、《ACTA Protozoologica》（IF=1.038，生物4区）、《生态学报》、《应用生态学报》、《生态学杂志》等国内外权威学术刊物发表。
张继教授、王风霞博士研究小组的研究成果《Ethanol/salt aqueous two-phase system based ultrasonically assisted extraction of polysaccharides from Lilium davidiivar. unicolor Salisb: Physicochemical characterization and antiglycation properties》、《Microwave-assisted synthesis of Pd3Ag nanocomposite via nature polysaccharide applied to glucose detection》、《Green synthesis of Pd nanoparticles via extracted polysaccharide applied to glucose detection》、《Isolation and Structural Characterization of a Second Polysaccharide from Bulbs of Lanzhou Lily》分别发表在《Journal of Molecular Liquids》（IF=4.513，化学3区）、《International Journal of Biological Macromolecules》（IF=3.909，生物3区）、《Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers》（IF=3.849，工程技术2区）、《Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology》（IF=1.7973，生物3区）等国际权威刊物。
孙坤教授、侯勤正副教授科研团队的研究成果《Alternative oxidase functions in the excess excitation energy-induced resistance to pathogen infection》、《H2O2-induced acclimation of photosystem II to excess light is mediated by alternative respiratory pathway and salicylic acid》、《The responses of photosystem II and intracellular ATP production of Arabidopsis leaves to salt stress are affected by extracellular ATP》发表在《Photosynthetica》（IF=1.74，生物4区）、《J Plant Res》（IF=2.0，生物4区）等刊物；张辉副教授研究小组在由美国遗传学会创办的遗传学权威期刊《Genetics》（IF=4.075，生物2区）发表学术论文，该论文被Genetics选为本期重点推介的文章之一（doi: https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.117.201434）。
杨颖丽教授研究小组的成果《Cadmium stress tolerance in wheat seedlings induced by ascorbic acid was mediated by NO signaling pathways》发表在国际权威刊物《Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety》（IF=3.974，环境生态2区）。
王俊龙教授研究小组有关植物多糖合成、修饰与改性、生物活性功能研究的《An efficient approach to prepare sulfated polysaccharide and evaluation of anti-tumor activities in vitro》、《Synthesis and structural features of phosphorylated Artemisia sphaerocephala polysaccharide》、《Efficient synthesis of polysaccharide with high selenium content mediated by imidazole-based acidic ionic liquids》、《Sulfation can enhance antitumor activities of Artemisia sphaerocephala polysaccharide in vitro and vivo》、《Synthesis and structure characterization of sulfated galactomannan from fenugreek gum》等多篇科研成果在《Carbohydrate Polymers》（IF=5.158，化学2区）、《International Journal of Biological Macromolecules》（IF=3.909，生物3区）等国际权威刊物发表。
李建真副教授的系列有关斑马鱼生殖发育的研究成果《Zinc mediates the action of androgen in acting as a downstream effector of LH on oocyte maturation in zebrafish》、《Igf3 serves as a mediator of luteinizing hormone in zebrafish ovulation》、《Evolution of gonadotropin signaling on gonad development: insights from gene knockout studies in zebrafish》、《The role of PKG in oocyte maturation of zebrafish》、《The dual role of cGMP in oocyte maturation of zebrafish》、《Developmental protein kinase C hyper-activation results in microcephaly and behavioral abnormalities in zebrafish》分别在《Biology of Reproduction》（IF=3.184，生物2区）、《Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications》（IF=2.559，生物3区）、《Translational Psychiatry》（IF=4.691，医学2区）等国际权威刊物发表。
张会副教授研究小组的研究成果《Development and evaluation of in silico prediction model for drug-induced respiratory toxicity by using naïve Bayes classifier method》、《Development of novel prediction model for drug-induced mitochondrial toxicity by using naïve Bayes classifier method》发表在国际著名学术刊物《Food and Chemical Toxicology》（IF=3.977，工程技术2区），获得了同行的高度认可。
此外，王一峰教授成果《海拔对青藏高原东缘弯齿风毛菊繁殖特征的影响》、张腾国教授成果《逆境胁迫对油菜谷胱甘肽还原酶基因表达及其酶活性的影响》在《应用生态学学报》发表（http://www.cjae.net/CN/volumn/volumn_1453.shtml），张爱梅副教授研究小组成果《马衔山中国沙棘根瘤内共生细菌多样性研究》近期在《生态学报》发表，李巧峡博士的研究成果《Virus-induced gene silencing in Nicotiana benthamiana triggered by heterologous gene sequences from Viola philippica》即将在《Biologia Plantarum》（IF=1.424，生物4区）发表。