Show-Me State Times

Robert I. Bolla, Ph.D., a former chair of the Department of Biology at Saint Louis University (SLU), died on July 27, 2025, at the age of 81.

Bolla was born in Dansville, New York, on August 18, 1943. He earned his undergraduate degree in biology from the University at Buffalo in 1965 and completed both his master’s and doctorate degrees in zoology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst by 1971. His doctoral thesis focused on gene-level control of development and differentiation in cestode parasites.

After earning his doctorate, Bolla became a research fellow at the University of Notre Dame, where he spent three years studying parasitic nematodes. In 1973, he joined the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology to continue research into aging processes.

In 1976, Bolla began teaching as an assistant professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL). He later became an associate professor and worked as a consultant for Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute. He also served as a visiting assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

Bolla joined SLU in summer 1989 as both professor and chairman of biology. At SLU, he continued research into plant parasitic nematodes—organisms that cause significant crop losses worldwide. “Most strategies to manage parasitic nematodes are ineffective,” Bolla cautioned during his career, noting that chemical pesticides used to kill nematodes have been found in water tables and are being phased out.

His team focused on agricultural pests such as soybean cyst nematode and root knot nematode. Their work with soybean cyst nematode aimed to increase crop yields through participation in national research efforts.

Throughout his academic career, Bolla published numerous scholarly articles and was active in professional societies including the New York Academy of Science, Society of Nematologists, and American Association for the Advancement of Science.

He left SLU in 2001 to become dean of Arts and Sciences at Youngstown State University before serving as associate provost and interim provost at Bradley University.

After retiring from academia, Bolla founded Tin Duck Consulting and Tin Duck Studio. The consulting firm worked with technology start-ups and bioscience projects while also supporting graduate education program development. This venture allowed him to pursue photography alongside consulting work.