Biology

Dr. Tim Wakefield joined the faculty of John Brown University in 2000. Dr. Wakefield's courses include Biological Sciences, Honors Biology, Animal Biology, Marine Biology, Human Anatomy, Animal Physiology, Global Environmental Stewardship, and Faith and Science.

Dr. Wakefield's passion is marine biology. His marine biology class allows students to interact with marine life close-up during Spring Break lab trips to the Florida Keys. Dr. Wakefield also enjoys teaching classes focused on Marine Biology for the Au Sable Institute during the summer.

Before coming to JBU, while completing his Master's degree, Dr. Wakefield trained Atlantic Bottle Nosed Dolphins at World's of Fun in Kansas City Missouri. His experience in animal training also led to a job in professional dog training for four years. 

Mrs. Jane Beers began as an Instructor of Biology at John Brown University in 1998. Her current courses are Cell Biology, Biological Science, Honors Biological Science, Gateway.

Mrs. Beers loves challenging students to integrate faith and science. Her desire is to help students analyze scientific findings from a Christian world view and to understand the strengths and limitations of science. Mrs. Beers has co-authored writings on faith-learning integration.

Nature would still have been Mrs. Beers' career focus had she not become a professor. She might have combined her creativity and love for the natural world as a landscape designer.

In 1998, Dr. Brian Greuel joined the faculty of John Brown University as Professor of Biology. The courses taught by Dr. Greuel are Genetics, Molecular Cell Biology, Developmental Biology, Bioethics, Field Experience, and Biological Research.

Undergraduate students have worked with Dr. Greuel on his current research around the myelin proteolipid protein (PLP) gene and how its association with neurodegenerative disorders. This research has been funded by a 5 year grant and Dr. Greuel is now writing an article for publication describing his research findings.

Dr. Greuel's love for biology stems from its ability to open one's eyes to the complexity and beauty of God's creation. It has also allowed him to give back to the medical community through research that may eventually be able to help in the treatment of certain diseases. Dr. Greuel enjoys imparting his passion to students through "doing science" through frequent investigative laboratory exercises and original research.

Dr. Joel Funk came to John Brown University in 2009 as an Assistant Professor of Biology. Dr. Funk teaches courses including Biological Science, Ecology, Plant Biology, and Microbiology.

Dr. Funk's research is on how lung cells respond to infection by a coronavirus. Most respiratory coronaviruses infect the upper respiratory system, but my research has shown that they can also infect white blood cells that reside in the lung, alveolar macrophages. When these macrophages become infected they produce biochemical signals (cytokines) that aid in the immune response to a viral infection.

Biology caught Dr. Funk's interest because Biology is an almost endless frontier where the ability to discover is only limited by one's creativity. New technological advances have enhanced the ability of scientists to make huge strides in our understanding of the natural world. For example, in the area of microbiology, new DNA sequencing techniques have accelerated our ability to sequence genomes faster than ever before. This information can then in turn be used to discover new approaches to combating medical pathogens.