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Faculty | B.S. in Biological Science

Jason Tresser

  • Associate Professor of Biological Sciences

  • Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara
  • M.A., Biola University
  • B.S., University of California, San Diego

I love teaching at Biola because I get to combine my disparate interests of gardening, genetics, embryos and nutrition together with teaching and discipling students. I direct student research on the embryology and genetics of ascidians and I enjoy conversations with students while pulling weeds in Biola’s organic garden.

Courses

  • Cellular & Molecular Biology
  • Genetics
  • Nutrition
  • Biochemistry II
  • Developmental Biology

Research Interests

  • Ascidian embryology and genetics
  • Organic gardening

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Harvey Havoonjian

  • Director, Office of Health Professions Advising
  • Associate Professor, Biological Sciences

  • M.D., University of California, Los Angeles
  • B.S., University of California, Riverside

Harvey Havoonjian teaches human anatomy and parasitology. Additional to his teaching duties, he is the founder and director of the Biola Office of Health Professions Advising (BOHPA). He advises students daily as they prepare for the wide range of graduate health professional programs. Following medical school at UCLA, he entered a residency program for internal medicine and also worked as a...

Courses

  • Human Anatomy Lab
  • Parasitology
  • Clinical Observation Practicum

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Douglas Axe

  • Co-Director, Stewart Science Honors Program
  • Rosa Endowed Chair of Molecular Biology

  • Ph.D. California Institute of Technology, Chemical Engineering, Division of Chemistry
  • M.S. California Institute of Technology, Chemical Engineering, Division of Chemistry
  • B.S. University of California at Berkeley, Chemical Engineering, College of Chemistry

Courses

  • Design of Life
  • Directed Research: Microfluidic Study of Genome Stability
  • Directed Research: Computational Biology

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Wendy Billock

  • Associate Dean of Science
  • Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

  • Ph.D., Loma Linda University
  • M.S., Institute for Creation Research
  • B.A., Point Loma Nazarene College

My passion is for organisms and their environment. The best part of my job is being able to take students to the ocean, the forest or the desert and introduce them to the vibrant and dynamic relationships that God has created there. Plus I get to run all my lab sessions outside! I direct the science writing program here at Biola, and I serve in several ministry organizations. My research background is in behavior ecology in organisms from primates to hermit crabs.

Courses

  • General Biology II
  • Ecology
  • Marine Biology
  • Invertebrate Biology
  • Biological Principles

Research Interests

  • Marine ecosystems
  • Animal behavior

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Jinsil Kim

  • Associate Professor of Biological Sciences

  • Ph.D., University of Iowa
  • B.S., Idaho State University

Jinsil Kim’s teaching interests are in the areas of cell biology and immunology. She teaches upper division biology courses for students majoring in Biological Sciences and related science majors. Kim comes to Biola from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and has a research background encompassing a wide variety of fields, including cell and molecular biology, genetics, developmental...

Courses

  • Genetics
  • Cell and Molecular Biology
  • Directed Research: Cell Signaling

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Hyuna Lee

  • Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences

  • Ph.D., University of California Irvine
  • B.S., University of California Irvine

Dr. Hyuna Lee’s teaching interests are in the areas of neurobiology, biological aspects of psychology, and biological principles. She teaches courses for both Science, Technology and Health majors and non-majors. Dr. Lee is an academic advisor in the Biola Office of Health Profession Advising and is a co-mentor for the In-Semester Bridge Program. 

Dr. Lee's research currently focuses on...

Courses

  • Biological Principles
  • Neurobiology
  • Sophomore Writing Seminar
  • Directed Research: Zebrafish Neurobehavior & Neurotoxicity

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Kit Ng

  • Program Chair of Biological Sciences

  • Ph.D., University of California, Davis
  • B.S., University of California, Davis

Kit Ng is currently teaching Principles of Anatomy and Physiology Lecture and Lab, Human Anatomy Lecture and Lab. Before coming to Biola, Ng taught anatomy, physiology, biotechnology and immunology at several community colleges in the Bay Area and served as a faculty member at Notre Dame de Namur University. He became interested in the pedagogy of student learning and has studied the...

Courses

  • Physiology
  • Human Anatomy
  • Prosection
  • Directed Research: Diet & Thyroid

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Patrick Sun

  • Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences

  • Ph.D. in Marine and Environmental Biology, University of Southern California
  • B.S. in Biological Science, The University of California, Irvine

Patrick Sun is currently teaching Fundamentals of Organismal Biology, Vertebrate Biology Lecture and Lab and General Ecology. Sun’s research interests focus on the interaction of stress tolerance with environmental factors in the context of organism adaptation to changing environments. His research examines differences in stress response to pollution and climate change in different populations,...

Courses

  • Organismal Biology
  • Environmental Health
  • Ecology
  • Botany
  • Directed Research: Environmental Stress

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Behzad Varamini

  • Co-Director, Stewart Science Honors Program
  • Associate Professor of Biological Sciences

  • Postdoctoral Scholar, The University of Pennsylvania
  • Ph.D., Human Nutrition, Cornell University
  • B.S., Biotechnology, Elizabethtown College

Behzad Varamini incorporates current clinical case studies and cutting-edge research into his physiology, biochemistry, and nutrition courses, while also working closely with a small group of students in his laboratory.  He is passionate about challenging and mentoring students to reach their truest and highest potential, and the aim of all his work in and out of the classroom is their...

Courses

  • Physiology
  • Human Nutrition
  • Nutrition and Metabolism
  • Nutrition, Health, and Society
  • Writing in the Disciplines: Scientific Communication

Research Interests

  • Nutrient-Sensing and Nutrient-Responsive Gene Expression in Drosophila
  • Molecular Mechanisms of Sleep and Longevity

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Andre Woo

  • Director of Occupational Therapy Program
  • Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy

  • Doctor of Occupational Therapy University of Southern California
  • Master of Arts in Occupational Therapy Univeristy of Southern California

Dr. André Woo’s teaching interests are in the field of Occupational Therapy. He currently teaches courses in the B.S. in Allied Health/pre-Occupational Therapy concentration, which includes the courses such as Intro to Occupational Therapy, Assessment, and Interventions in Occupational Therapy. Prior to joining the faculty at Biola, Woo taught as an adjunct professor at the University of...

Courses

  • Introduction to Occupational Therapy
  • Assessment in Occupational Therapy
  • Interventions in Occupational Therapy
  • Occupation Therapy Conditions

Research Interests

  • Occupational Therapy
  • Upper Extremity Rehabilitation

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Emily Yang

  • Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences

  • Ph.D. Molecular Biology, University of California at Los Angeles
  • B.S. Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California at Los Angeles

Emily Yang was born and raised in Southern California. She received both her Bachelor of Science in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics and her doctorate in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her doctoral work examined the roles of ubiquitination and RNA binding in the host innate immune response in the context of alphavirus infection. Through her...

Courses

  • Microbiology
  • Cell and Molecular Biology
  • Seminar in Advanced Biology

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