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Biology Faculty

Bethany Lutheran College | www.blc.edu

	Chad Heins Field Biology Send Chad Heins a message Teaching Philosophy I love teaching and I love learning. More than anything I want my students to get excited about learning new things in biology. Is there anything so fascinating as a living, breathing animal or plant? I believe that students learn the most when they are challenged and I prefer to lead students to the answer rather than provide it directly. In today’s world of internet searches, it is easy to find an answer but more important for students to be able to use answers to raise new questions. My approach in the classroom and laboratory stresses the inseparable ideas of form and function. Research Interests The more I learn about God’s Creation, the more I want to know. Cobb River Project I am currently working with students and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to carry out biological inventories of Cobb River and Perch Waterfowl Production Areas. That project gives me the opportunity to learn about inventory methods as well as to identify organisms ranging from plants and fungi to birds and aquatic macroinvertebrates. Spiders of Minnesota Our inventory work led me to another project involving the spiders of Minnesota. Very little is known about the spider fauna in the state of Minnesota and I am currently working on a literature study to determine which species occur in the state and how they are distributed. Bethany Hawkwatch My other main project involves the Bethany Hawkwatch on our campus. We count southbound raptors like hawks, eagles, and vulture which utilize the Minnesota River Valley during fall migration. Our data is submitted to Hawkcount which is a clearinghouse for data from across the country and is utilized to create the Raptor Population Index for North America. Personal I’ve been teaching at Bethany since January of 2000. My wife and I have four children under the age of 8 which keep us plenty busy at home. We love camping with the family and exploring Minnesota State Parks and National Parks across the country. In my free time I can normally be found outdoors playing with my kids, taking pictures, or birdwatching.
	Doyle Holbird Molecular Biology Send Doyle Holbird a message Teaching Philosophy It is my job to take the massive amount of biological knowledge that is out there and to distill it down so that students are not inundated with too much information. The foundational parts of Biology are the most important for students to learn. It is my job to take these parts and organize them so that all of the marvelous complexity that exists within a living system is learnable. My goal is that students learn not only the basic information but also why that information is important and how it all fits together. I recognize that my students may be at different levels of understanding of the material. I try to present things in such a way that helps those who are struggling while challenging those who are not. Finally, I want to challenge students to become “problem solvers.” Learning the foundational “stuff” is great but it’s even better if students can apply their knowledge to solve puzzling issues. I believe that for scientific knowledge to be useful it should have practical applications so I design my upper level lab exercises to provide experience with techniques that employers are currently demanding. Research Interests One way in which biology students at Bethany are encouraged to fulfill their potential is through a research project. My own research interests are in the physiology of ion channels. I am currently working to understand an ion channel that exists in the skin of bullfrog tadpoles. Why do they have an ion channel in their skin and what is its purpose? Do humans also have this type of channel? Using electrophysiological and molecular biology techniques I hope to help answer some of these questions and to perhaps clone it to enable more in depth study. I have also recently developed an interest in plant tissue culture. Many plants that you might purchase at a nursery were not grown from seeds, but rather were started as small pieces of stems or leaves that were “planted” on a gel with hormones that caused them to develop roots and stems. Some plants are easier to grow in culture than others. Perhaps we can find ways to culture some of the more difficult to grow plants. Finally, I am also interested in the current debate that rages between those who believe that God is ultimately responsible for the creation of living things and those who believe that evolution is sufficient to account for life as it is currently found in our world. Personal My wife and I have 3 children. We enjoy gardening and spending time with our family and friends. We are interested in the missions of the ELS, especially the orphanages in India.
	Matthew Kuster Human Biology Send Matthew Kuster a message Teaching Philosophy I teach many of the human biology courses within the Biology Major. I believe it is my role to lead students to begin bridging the gap between basic science and clinical practice. I offer a unique perspective as I have been a practicing Physical Therapist since 1996 in addition to my role as a professor at Bethany Lutheran College. Many examples of conceptual science can be explained and applied though the use of clinical cases that I have experienced in the clinic. I want to pass that knowledge and experience on to you as a student. In addition, my goal is to pass on a love of life-long learning. Learning can be so much fun! Personal I love to play golf and enjoy Bethany athletics as I was a Bethany student-athlete many years ago.