Two Bethel professors have the opportunity to attend prestigious seminars this summer.

By Emily Jan

Bethel biology professor Joyce Doan and reconciliation studies professor Claudia May have been selected to travel to Oxford, UK for the coming summer to attend Bridging the Two Cultures of Science and the Humanities II.

During the trip, they will be participating in discussions, seminars, and mentoring opportunities to start working on their own research projects so that they can bring the projects back to campus to finish.

Doan’s working title of her project is “Beauty, Tragedy, and the Benevolent Creator: Theodicy through the Lens of the Cell.” May’s project is “Racial Trauma, the Power of Story and Reconciliation”.

As for the application process, it was much different than a regular grant application.

This application was unique because the project description had to be written three times for three different audiences, Doan shared.

Their applications needed support from the university, two references, and a discussion about how the participation would influence the university’s campus.

Doan is hoping to get more information for doing interdisciplinary research across biology and various other disciplines.

“As a cell biologist I am all too aware of molecular events that give rise to biological tragedies such as cancer, or genetic disorders like cystic fibrosis,” Doan said. “I want to explore what it means for our Christian practice that we have a good God who provided us with a creation that all too often seems to veer toward biological tragedy.”

Doan also hopes for opportunities to present her research at a variety of venues, both on and off-campus.

“My dream would be to publish the end product, either as a series of articles in academic journals, or possibly a book,” Doan said.

May declined to comment for this article.