Initiative Category: Biology

Continuing a years – long tradition of excellence and recognition, Trinity Christian College has been named among the “Best Colleges” by U.S. News & World Report for 2021.  Trinity was ranked 21st among  Midwestern regional colleges in this year’s survey. Trinity was also named a “Best Value” college and a “Top Performer on Social Mobility.”

“At Trinity Christian College, our community is focused on providing a rigorous, life-changing education, and our graduates go on to find success in their careers and vocations,” said Trinity’s President Kurt D. Dykstra. “We are pleased that U.S. News & World Report has once again recognized how Trinity prepares our students to change the world.”

Said Provost Aaron J. Kuecker, Ph.D., “We are proud of the excellent academic programs that are supported by Trinity’s world class faculty. Rankings like these are a recognition of the top quality, whole-person vision of education that we pursue at Trinity.”

Trinity is frequently recognized for its high academic standards. The College’s honors include being named a “College of Distinction,” a “Best BSN Program in Illinois,” and a “National Strength and Conditioning Association Education Recognition Program,” among others. Trinity, which is a university partner with 1871, the world’s top university-affiliated startup incubator located in downtown Chicago, also has a world-class business department that recently led the State of Illinois with both the highest pass rates and average scores on the most recent certified public accounting (CPA) exam. The Trinity Athletics Department was also recently listed among the Champions of Character Five-Star institutions by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

The U.S. News rankings are based on qualitative and quantitative information in several categories, including peer assessments, graduation rates, social mobility, and faculty information. The “Best Value” ranking is determined by a school’s academic quality and the net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid. The “Social Mobility” ranking is based on how successful a college is at advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students awarded with Pell Grants.

Recent shelter-in-place requirements offer the opportunity to get to know our own backyardw, according to Associate Professor of Biology Abbie Schrotenboer, Ph.D., in a recent interview with “Christianity Today.”

Schrotenboer was one of several national experts quoted in the article, “Can Staying Home Help Us Regain a Sense of Place?” As part of the article, she describes how her students explore natural areas at Trinity and in the surrounding neighborhoods.

She also describes how communing with creation allows her to draw closer to God. “The more I appreciate creation, the more I give glory to God as the Creator.”

You can read the entire article here.

For Jesse VanMaanen ’12, a surgery resident at the University of South Dakota, the coronavirus pandemic isn’t just a workplace issue—he is currently in isolation after having contracted the illness during a rotation at Chicago’s John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County.

VanMaanen shared his story recently on “Troll Talks,” a podcast series of conversations with alumni, parents, faculty, and friends of Trinity Christian College, hosted by Director of Alumni and Family Engagement Jeremy Klyn.

During his conversation with Klyn, VanMaanen offered advice for dealing with the current pandemic situation, discussed his personal story, and talked about how his Trinity professors help prepare him for medical school.

A graduate of Pella Christian High School in Pella, Iowa, VanMaanen is already recovering at his home in Sioux Falls, S.D.

While the current situation has been challenging for everyone, VanMaanen stressed that we can’t let ourselves live in fear. “It’s not healthy, and it’s not productive. But people need to be smart. We serve a God that is bigger than this—but that doesn’t mean we can decide that God’s got this, and we can go get together with all our friends. We also have to act appropriately and responsibly,” he said.

He credits Trinity with helping to shape his worldview and vocation. After graduating in 2012 with a major in biology and minor in chemistry, VanMaanen attended the University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine. After graduating from medical school, he next decided to pursue general surgery training at the University of South Dakota, where he is currently in the fourth year of the five-year program. Part of his surgical training included rotations in Chicago.

“My wife and son came along for my Chicago rotation, and they stayed at her parents’ house in the suburbs,” he said. “I stayed at the hospital in a dorm, and somehow, while I was there, I must have had an exposure.” For safety’s sake, VanMaanen chose to return home, while his wife and son stayed in the Chicago area. “I knew I was going to be exposed, and I really wanted to keep them out of harms’ way as best I could. They are going to stay there until my quarantine period is up, my symptoms are gone, and I’m cleared to go back to work.”

For VanMaanen, who has suffered from headaches, muscle aches, cough, loss of taste and smell, and other COVID-19 symptoms, being away from his family has been hard. “But it’s temporary, and that’s something everyone should remember—this is temporary. But it’s also important to do the right thing during that time.”

That includes social distancing. “By time you get symptoms of coronavirus, you will probably infect two to three people on average. And then those three infect another three, and those people each infect three more. So, you can see how it can sweep through a small area really quickly. You can break that chain link with just one person. By the time you get symptoms, the damage is already done.”

He cautions people to not be overly concerned on an individual level, but to think about improving society as a whole. “It’s going to run its course, and it’s going to be over,” he said. “But the question mark, and the big thing that drives a lot of the fear, is when that will be. And no one knows.”

VanMaanen stressed the importance of supporting the people who are continuing to work on the front lines. “It’s not just nurses and doctors. We need to be supporting small businesses. We have teachers at home making videos for kids to do online learning, which is amazingly valiant. Garbage needs to be picked up, things still need to be repaired. Places still need to be cleaned, and food still needs to be made. Everyone is taking a hit.”

In his conversation with Klyn, VanMaanen reflected on his deep beliefs in both faith and science—which he credits Trinity for helping him to develop. “At Trinity, you get an education that weaves faith and science together. One of biggest things I enjoyed at Trinity was the professors who really worked to say, these are both wonderful things and we really need to embrace how they work together, not how they work apart. If anyone is thinking of pursuing a science major and a Christian education, Trinity is wonderful place to be.”

–May 20, 2019

Eight Trinity students, along with Dr. Clay Carlson, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, took a road trip from Palos Heights to suburban Atlanta last month to present their research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR).

The NCUR 2019 conference, held at Kennesaw State University, brought together students and faculty from around the country in an event that supports and promotes high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship.

The stellar caliber of work and dedication of Trinity students and faculty was clearly on display at the conference, Carlson said. Several of the Trinity presentations attracted so much interest that people were lined up to learn more. “Our student presentations looked great,” he said.

The students who presented were:

— Larissa Brumlow Music and National Identity in Ecuadorian Pasillo

–Casey Wiegers and Abigail Lammers: Bacteriophage and Their Prey in Chicagoland Area Waterways

–Marie Sonnenburg and Laura DeVries: Can Changes in Gut Microbiota Impact Function and Make Differences in Conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder?

–Marie Sonnenburg and Amber Shoberg: Transfer between Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Cardiac H9c2 Cells

–Jenna Van Der Pol, Olivia Otte, and Jessica Grevenstuk: The Effect of Perceived Mutability on Racial System Justification

Carlson also expressed his gratitude for the generous support of those in the Trinity community who have made attending the NCUR conference possible. “It’s an extraordinary accomplishment to be selected to present, and attending these types of conferences offers our students invaluable experiences,” he said. “We are grateful for all the encouragement our students receive that makes this possible.”

Dr. Clay Carlson, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, has authored an article on “Faith and Climate Science,” which appears on the cover of this issue of The Banner.

In his piece, Carlson describes the devastating effects of the widespread rejection of climate science. “For the sake of our witness, our young people, and our world, we must rise above fear, skepticism, and unwarranted optimism,” he urges.

The entire article can be read here.

Dr. Schrotenboer maintains a blog about her work in ecology and the environment here.

Read more about Dr. Carlson’s research on his website.

To learn more about  Dr. Boomsma’s research interests, click here.

With topics spanning biology, racial attitudes, autism, ethics, and more, 12 Trinity students and alumni were selected to present their work at the prestigious National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR) at the University of Memphis from April 6-8, 2017.

Learn more about the NCUR presentations.