Always Be Ready, Part Five

Always Be Ready, Parts 1-4 were authored by Hugh Ross

Our series continues with this report from RTB adjunct scholar Katie Galloway, who served on staff this past summer before starting her postdoctoral research. In addition to writing web articles and speaking at outreach events, Katie celebrated two great moments during her time with us: first, the publication of an article in the journal Science; second, the funding for her research into the conversion of skin cells into motor neurons to study Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Encounters in Academia

The other night, a graduate student acquaintance asked me about my work at RTB. This person has a reputation for being argumentative and abrasive; consequently, he has trouble relating to his lab partners. He has also indicated unbridled enthusiasm for Richard Dawkins. He asked what I thought of the arguments made from research by a molecular biologist and intelligent design advocate. If he had asked me a month ago I wouldn’t have given a good answer since I had no idea who this researcher was. But thanks to RTB, I was able to respond.

Given a reasonable response, the student became genuinely curious and opened up about his current struggles, including disillusionment with science.

I talked to him about the evidence for God (consciousness, biological discontinuities, the human need for meaning) and the value of a relationship with God. In the end, he said, “I just need a sign or something.” I referred him to what Jesus said about the sign of Jonah and told him he should look into the resurrection. He replied that he needed to do some soul searching first. I don’t know what God will do with/for him, but I am amazed at what God has done in him already.

Thanks for all the work you do to equip people like me as we go into the trenches of academia to reach those who are lost.

By

Dr. Katie Galloway

Dr. Katie Galloway received her PhD in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Biology from Caltech in 2012. While at Caltech she focused on synthetic biology and systems biology and building synthetic genetic circuits that control cellular decision-making. In 2013 her thesis work was published in Science. Currently Dr. Galloway serves as a NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA where she works on converting skin cells into neurons and studying neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Galloway has also been a participant in RTB’s Visiting Scholar Program and is a lead mentor for The Lab.