Biology Department

In this section, we address questions that we are commonly asked from prospective students. Do you have a question that is not addressed here? Contact Dr. Jan Reber, our biology department chair, today! Better yet, schedule a visit to come on campus for a face-to-face and a tour of the Euler Science Complex!

Question: Why should I pick Taylor University for biology?

Here are our top reasons:

• Taylor’s science program is one of the premier programs among Christian colleges and universities throughout the United States. All major’s classes are taught by faculty with doctorates. Not all institutions have terminal degreed faculty teaching the undergraduates. The programs are varied and geared towards current developments in biology and the jobs that are being offered currently in biology. The labs are well equipped and students gain experiences on equipment that sets them at the front of biology education. Examples of student laboratory projects include: gene expression studies during development; gene cloning; mammalian cell culture, including mouse stem cell culture. Exposure to the current areas of research are advanced through our many professional contacts.
  
  
• We have highly diverse PhD faculty. It’s rare for an institution of Taylor’s size to have such a large and diverse biology faculty – all holding doctorates from renowned universities. On staff you’ll find a molecular biologist, cell biologist, physiologist, zoologist, botanist and science education specialist. Our department has a strong relationship with the Department of Environmental Sciences.
  
  
• We focus on your next 40 years, not just your next four. We are concerned about God’s calling on your life, and how we can help develop your potential based on your passions, desires and gifts. We don’t see a separation between faith and your academic pursuits, especially in biology. We are dedicated to helping you build critical thinking skills so you are prepared to be a faithful Christian biologist wherever God places you. As the nation revamps its undergraduate biology program through the “Vision and Change” initiative promoted by the National Science Foundation and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, our faculty have been highly involved in the initiative to change the way biology is taught so that students leave with those core competencies and concepts that prepare them for the future.
  
  
• State-of-the-art facilities. Flourish in the new Euler Science Complex, teeming with graduate-level technology and instrumentation, cardiovascular research surgery room, large greenhouses for plant research, cell/molecular biology lab, cell culture room, microbiology lab, advanced physiology lab and other dedicated laboratories as well as our 700-acre arboretum, which serves as an excellent field laboratory. You will work alongside our faculty with these tools, so that you have an edge above competition in graduate school and the workplace.
  
  

Question: how can I grow professionally outside the classroom?

Student biology organizations:

• Alpha Pi Iota. This is a monthly pre-health care club facilitated by a practicing medical doctor. You will focus on medical ethics, prepare for the MCAT, share summer research experiences, hear from health care professionals and talk about graduate-level health care programs.
  
  
• Students of Cuenca Ecuador. Students who have attended or participated in the semester abroad program to Cuenca Ecuador.

State and National Conferences:

• Attend state and national science teacher conferences
  
  
• Attend Global Missions Health Conference in Louisville every year. This conference is for health care professionals and students interested in using medical skills on the mission field.
  
  
• Attend the Experimental Biology Conference
  
  
• Every year students present at the Indiana Academy of Science

On-site undergraduate research program

• Cell culture, Azalea cell propagation, muscle physiology and more.

Biology faculty research

• Serve as an assistant to your biology faculty in their ongoing research.  Work in the area of molecular genetics, human performance physiology, toxicology and others.
  
  

Question: What travel or off-campus programs are available?

Specific opportunities with the biology department include these ongoing field study programs:

• Cuenca Ecuador Biology/Pre-medical program. Complete Human Medical Physiology and 3 hours of internship at the Universidad de Azuay School of Medicine and the Fundación del Ecuador medical clinic. Work with the Global Health Outreach Program of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations center in Ecuador. Assist in the operating room, complete clinical labs and visit medical schools and doctors. Take a year of Spanish and become conversant in both Spanish and in medical Spanish, get immersed in culture, and participate in public health outreach in jungle villages. There is a special excursion to the Galapagos Islands and into the rainforest. For more information, contact Dr. Moore, Director of Ecuador Programs or Off-Campus Programs. Read the latest news story about Dr. Moore’s recent trip and research.
  
  
• Field Natural History of the Black Hills. There is the opportunity to spend a summer at the Wheaton College Science Station in South Dakota.
  
  
• Natural History of the Rocky Mountains. The focus of this field adventure is to equip the student with a conceptual understanding of natural history and geology of the Rocky Mountains, familiarize the student with an understanding of life zones and their key indicator species and to develop an appreciation for the complexity of the western forests. Students travel from the Sonoran Desert in Tucson, through the Grand Canyon and Zion National Part, into the Great Basin Desert and the Great Salt Lake, over into the Grand Teton Mountains and Yellowstone National Park, finishing at Rocky Mountain National Park at the top of the mountains.
  
  
• Medical Missions Trips. Students have available every January a trip to a medical missions area to work with the doctors in the field. Trips have gone to Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras and Africa.
  
  
• Partnership with Mayo Clinic. Students have an opportunity for summer and year-long internships at the Mayo Clinic. Contact Dr. John Moore.