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Life Sciences
BYU College of
A Magazine for Friends and Alumni ■ Spring 2014
Bean Museum
Reopening
pg. 04
A New Home
pg. 08
PUBLISHER
Rodney Brown
MANAGING EDITOR
Lonnie Riggs
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Jordan McDowell
EDITORS
Ashley Holmes
Michael Rushton Jr.
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Rodney Brown
Jeff Barrow
Gordon Lindsay
Ashley Holmes
Jordan McDowell
Michael Rushton Jr.
Alisha Walbrecht
ART DIRECTOR
Jordan McDowell
MAGAZINE DESIGN
Jordan McDowell
PHOTOGRAPHY
Mark Philbrick, BYU Photo
DEAN
Rodney Brown
ASSOCIATE DEANS
Brad Neiger
James Porter
DEPARTMENT CHAIRS
Dennis Shiozawa, Bio
Gary Mack, ExSc
Michael Barnes, HLTH
Laura Bridgewater, MMBio
Michael Dunn, NDFS
Dixon Woodbury, PDBio
Eric Jellen, PWS
Larry St. Clair, MLBM
Find this and past issues at
lsmagazine.byu.edu
Cover photo by Mark Philbrick
©Brigham Young University
All rights reserved
2 ■ BYU College of Life Sciences
Creations
are beneath, things that are in the
earth, and upon the earth, and in
heaven” (D&C 101:32–34).
One consideration that brings
students to the College of Life
Sciences is the appeal of learning
from and about God’s creations. A
person can learn more by studying
God’s creations than by studying
the works of other people, as good
as they may be. It is as though we
By Dean Rodney Brown
follow the poetic advice of Job,
Universities are about gaining
who said,
knowledge. Students learn from the
“But ask now the beasts, and they
depository of known things accushall teach thee; and the fowls of
mulated through the ages. Research
the air, and they shall tell thee:
gradually adds to the pile of the
“Or speak to the earth, and it
known, while removing items found
shall teach thee: and the fishes of
to be incorrect. This is the best we
the sea shall declare unto thee”
can do until the breadth and depth of
(Job 12:7–8).
our understanding expand beyond
It is a great privilege to study
our current abilities.
God’s creations. Doing so reminds
“In that day when the Lord shall
us of our stewardship for all God’s
come, he shall reveal all things—
creations and keeps us close to
“Things which have passed, and
hidden things which no man knew, everything else God has given to
things of the earth, by which it was us. For those who teach, it is a
made, and the purpose and the end reminder of their responsibility to
point God’s greatest creations, the
thereof—
students they teach, back to their
“Things most precious, things
Creator. ■
that are above, and things that
Photo of Dean Brown by David Stinson.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Lonnie Riggs, Admin. Asst. 801.422.2007
[email protected]
Sue Pratley, Secretary 801.422.3963
[email protected]
Orrin Olsen, LDS Philanthropies
801.422.8651
[email protected]
God's Greatest
Life Sciences
BYU College of
A Magazine for Friends and Alumni ■ Spring 2014
Cover Story
04 Museum Reopening
The Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum
prepares for its reopening.
In the College
06 The Stewardship of
Spiritual Mentoring
Students should know that their mentors
have testimonies of the truthfulness of
the gospel.
08 A New Home
The Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum
houses President Boyd K. Packer's bird
carvings.
04
09 "Entering to Learn"
Together
Four friends teamed up to study, and all
have gone forth to serve successfully.
10 Students with "Wings"
These graduates have found ways to "go
forth and serve."
12 Touching Lives
Through personal mentoring, faculty
fulfil the responsibility to help their
students feel the light of the gospel.
Update
14 Moving Out
What can students expect from the new
Life Sciences Building?
15 Hellos and Goodbyes
The College of Life Sciences welcomes
its new professors and bids farewell to
some long-time friends.
06
12
Museum Reopening
By Ashley Holmes
The Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum prepares for its reopening.
After being closed for nearly two
years, the Monte L. Bean Life
Science Museum is preparing to reopen to the public on June 7, 2014.
The Bean Museum first opened
in 1978, so after operating for over
thirty years, it was in need of a few
updates. One major issue was that
the museum was running out of
space, particularly in the research
division. To solve that problem,
the museum has been expanded by
30,000 square feet, which allows
the museum to better accommodate the staff, exhibits, and patrons.
The work areas for staff members—
administrators, researchers, and
educators—are now consolidated
instead of being spread throughout different areas of the museum.
While the museum previously had
only limited storage area, it now has
much more. The renovation also
allows for a better way of securing
the research collections, which were
previously somewhat vulnerable.
A final reason for the update was
to honor the wishes of several
museum donors who were interested in displaying the creations made
by President Boyd K. Packer of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. The renovated
museum will include an exhibit
entirely dedicated to this purpose
(see A New Home on page 8).
The Bean Museum features an
array of wildlife, ranging from
mammals to birds to insects, all of
which have been preserved in the
form of taxidermy. Many of these
animals come from donors, and the
research collections at the museum are actively growing. However,
4 ■ BYU College of Life Sciences
the curators are quite particular
about what specimens they accept at the museum. Dr. Larry St.
Clair, director of the museum, said,
“We’re very careful about what we
take—does it meet our mission?
Is it just a duplicate of what we
already have? Does it provide us
with new options for an exhibit,
research, or teaching collections?”
These high standards are part of
what helps the museum maintain
its prestige.
With about twenty-five new
exhibits, nearly all of the museum’s displays are new. The Bean
Museum’s exhibits have always
told natural history stories, and
the additions to the museum are
no exception. The third floor of
the expansion is themed “Being on
Top,” and it features eight exhibits
that focus on top predators such
as lions, tigers, and bears. These
exhibits detail the dynamic interactions between predator and prey,
including how predators compete
for their prey, how prey species
avoid becoming lunch, and how all
these interactions affect the ecosystem.
A different section of the museum
focuses on species conservation,
highlighting those species that are
threatened or endangered.
Another new exhibit in the museum is titled “Divine Principles
of Earth Stewardship.” This exhibit focuses on Christ’s role as the
Creator and our responsibility as
earthly stewards to take care of the
earth and its creatures. The exhibit
illustrates the incredible and all-­
encompassing system Christ has
created to care for all his creatures,
Spring 2014 ■ 5
Skip Skidmore, curator at the Bean Museum, prepares this exhibit for opening day. Photo by Mark Philbrick.
as well as the doctrinal foundation
for our earthly stewardship. The
exhibit will help viewers understand that Christ purposefully and
masterfully created these beings,
which will consequently help them
to better understand their stewardship over Christ’s creatures and the
earth. As an exhibit on the Brigham
Young University campus, it is able
to uniquely combine both doctrine
and science, providing spiritual and
earthly knowledge.
There are many interesting and
exciting exhibits to look forward
to seeing, but when asked what he
was most excited about in regards
to the reopening of the museum,
Dr. St. Clair said, “I’m excited
about the children coming back;
we’ve missed the children. There’s
an innocence and an excitement
that children have that you just
don’t see anywhere else.”
When the museum reopens,
its hours will again be from 10:00
a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday through
Friday, and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
on Saturday. As always, admission
is free. To find the most up-to-date
information about the reopening
of the Bean Museum, refer often
to its newsletter (mlbean.byu.edu/
AbouttheMuseum/Newsletter.aspx),
website (mlbean.byu.edu), and
Facebook page (www.facebook.com/
bean.museum).
Renovating gave the museum
administrators the opportunity to
reevaluate all facets of the museum and then make improvements,
thus upscaling what they were
already doing. Regarding all the
improvements, Dr. St. Clair said, “I
want the public to recognize that
[the museum is] back, but I have
a singular hope that they will say
to themselves, ‘But it’s much better
than it was before.’” ■
The
Stewardship
of Spiritual
Mentoring
By Dr. Gordon Lindsay
Students should know that
their mentors have testimonies
of the gospel.
Anyone who has served on
departmental rank and status committees can attest that the teaching
assessment items “overall instructor” and “overall course” carry the
most weight. For the Lord however,
the items “testimony strengthened,”
“spiritually inspiring,” and “integrates gospel into subject” may be
of greater interest. The opportunity
to spiritually mentor and strengthen students is particularly rich in
the curriculum and courses taught
in the College of Life Sciences. As
faculty members in this college, we
cannot slip into a silo mentality and
assume it is our job to only intellectually stretch the students, while
leaving the spiritually strengthening aim of a Brigham Young
University education to colleagues
in the College of Religion. The
greatest spiritual growth in students often occurs because of the
mentoring and personal examples
they receive from professors in
BYU’s “secular” academic units.
It is inspiring to see LDS scholars
and professionals who have also
risen to the top of their professions
but who conspicuously dem­onstrate
to others their belief in and loyalty
to the restored gospel. One of the
greatest scholars the Church has
produced was Henry Eyring. He
6 ■ BYU College of Life Sciences
authored over 700 publications,
12 books, and was the winner of
numerous prestigious scientific
awards. Despite his many accolades,
he never lost his powerful and
simple testimony that God is the
Creator of the universe and that we
are his offspring. Equally impressive are the likes of Elder Russell M.
Nelson, or Elder Dallin H. Oaks
(members of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles), who each possess
stellar professional and academic
credentials in the realms of cardiovascular surgery and constitutional
law respectively. An example from
commerce is Clayton Christiansen
who teaches at Harvard Business
School. He is one of the most
widely cited authorities on corporate leadership. He speaks with
passion of the commitment he
made to faithfully read his Book of
Mormon while under the academic
pressure of being a Rhodes Scholar
at Oxford and the difference that
decision made in his life.
Elder Jeffery R. Holland, also of
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,
once warned that the cynical and
skeptical comments parents make
regarding the gospel have a negative impact on the next generation’s
spiritual development. This warning
equally applies to the faculty-­student
interactions at BYU. By substituting
professor for parent and student for
child, Elder Holland’s admonition to
the College of Life Sciences faculty
would be as follows:
“To lead a [student] (or anyone
else!), even inadvertently, away
from faithfulness, away from loyalty
and bedrock belief simply because
we want to be clever or independent is license no [professor] nor
any other person has ever been given. I think some [professors] may
not understand that even when
they feel secure in their own minds
regarding matters of personal
testimony, they can nevertheless,
make that faith too difficult for
their [students] to detect. We can
be reasonably active, meeting-going Latter-day Saints, but if we do
not live lives of gospel integrity and
convey to our [students] powerful
heartfelt convictions regarding the
truthfulness of the Restoration and
the divine guidance of the Church
from the First Vision to this very
hour, then those [students] may,
to our regret but not surprise,
turn out not to be visibly active,
meeting-going Latter-day Saints
or sometimes anything close to it.
In matters of religion, a skeptical
mind is not a higher manifestation
of virtue than is a believing heart,
and analytical deconstruction in
the field of, say, literary fiction can
be just plain old-fashioned destruction when transferred to [students]
yearning for faith at [BYU].”
Faculty members should never
hide their personal spiritual light
under a bushel. We will often fall
short in our attempts, but it is important that our students know of
our testimonies that God leads his
Church. Students need to see this
by the way we teach, by the references we make to the blessings
we have received by striving to be
disciples of the Master, by the pictures and objects students see in
our offices, but most of all, by our
attempt to show genuine Christlike concern for our students. To
use the words of Elder Holland
once more, faculty mentors of
students need to “live the gospel as
conspicuously as you can. Keep the
covenants your [students] know
you’ve made. And bear testimony!
Don’t just assume your [students]
will somehow get the drift of your
beliefs on their own.” ■
Spring 2014 ■ 7
Dr. Gordon Lindsay teaches his students. Photo by Mark Philbrick.
"Faculty members
should never hide
their personal
spiritual light
under a bushel."
Home
By Michael Rushton Jr.
The Monte L. Bean Life Science
Museum houses President Boyd K.
Packer's bird carvings.
President Boyd K. Packer, of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, is
best known for his spiritual teachings
and leadership. In the near future,
however, patrons of the Monte L.
Bean Life Science Museum will be
able to enjoy President Packer’s creativity, fueled by his love of nature,
and especially birds.
Self-proclaimed as an “amateur
artist,”1 President Packer has been
creating art since he was a boy.
From the age of nine, he has been
painting, sketching, and drawing.
This culminated in his passion for
carving, an art that combined and
demanded more of his developing
skill set. Kenneth Packer, son of
President Packer, and curator at the
Bean Museum, recalled his father
8 ■ BYU College of Life Sciences
Kenneth Packer, curator at the Bean Museum and son of President Packer, prepares his father's artwork for exhibit. Photo by Mark Philbrick.
A New
working at a small workshop in
the home, spending hours carving
forms by hand until he achieved
the level of authenticity he desired.
Carving time was peaceful and
beautiful for President Packer:
“While my hands created, thoughts
and insights came for problem solving. Pure knowledge, even revelation, could flow.”2 Over sixty-eight
years of artistry has yielded an
impressive collection of hundreds
of drawings, paintings, and wood
carvings.
In a recent publication regarding
his art, President Packer explains,
“I have studied birds and their
habits all my life.”3 Ken echoed this
fact, expressing that these carvings illustrate his father’s interest
and love for birds. The display
has a full circle connection to the
museum, as it played an integral
role in refining President Packer’s
creativity. President Packer would
come to visit Dr. Clayton White and
borrow specimens from the museum over the years. Working with
Dr. White, who was then a professor of zoology and the curator
of ornithology at Brigham Young
University, President Packer learned
more about the different species in
order to more fully understand his
subjects.
The museum exhibit is based on
a room in President Packer’s home,
complete with fine wooden bookshelves and a fireplace garnished
with ornate bronze work, which
was originally created by President
Packer himself. Ken clarified that
his father’s art was indeed a creative
outlet, but his works also served to
beautify the home, as patrons will
be able to see in this replication.
And President Packer’s art certainly accomplished its purpose.
The detail and near-perfection
exhibited in the wings, beaks, and
environment of the birds is awe-­
inspiring. Vibrant colors, which
have been scrupulously painted,
make it difficult to distinguish
between the carvings and the
taxidermy. Furthermore, the birds,
carved from mostly bass and tupelo
tree, are placed in realistic environments, complete with grass,
branches, and leaves, the last of
which are carefully formed from
bronze. Each piece inspires a reverence for the perfection of God’s
every creation, a sensation visitors
to the Packer home were sure to
experience then, and patrons of
the Bean Museum will be able to
experience
today. ■
References
1. Boyd K. Packer, The Earth Shall Teach Thee: the Lifework of an Amateur Artist
(Provo, UT: Deseret Book, 2012), 1.
2. Ibid. 140.
3. Ibid. 139.
"Entering to Learn" Together
By Alisha Walbrecht and Jordan McDowell
Four friends in the Life Sciences teamed up to study and all have gone forth to serve successfully.
For students interested in going to
a prestigious medical school, competition is fierce. But a few years
ago, four students decided to collaborate rather than compete. They
helped each other get into medical
school by forming a study group.
All through their undergraduate
education, Garrett Bodine, Joseph
Wood, Blake Steele, and Wesley
Jones studied together, and their
efforts definitely paid off.
Every semester, the four took
certain classes together and set
aside about ten hours per week for
studying as a group. Relying on
each other’s strengths to help them
all master the material, they reaped
substantial benefits from their hard
work. “The semester that we started
studying together, I jumped from
a bad GPA to pretty much straight
A’s,” Garrett said.
When they were preparing for
medical school, Blake said, “I want
Garrett and Wes and Joe to go to
med school just as much as I want to
go.” Other group members expressed
similar feelings.
Although the group disbanded
when they graduated in April 2012,
they have all since gone on to great
things. Garrett is currently studying in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the
University of Utah. Blake went on
to study at Virginia Commonwealth
University in Richmond, Virginia.
Wes is in Seattle, Washington, studying at A. T. Still Medical School. Each
of these three are in their second
year of medical school. Although he
was accepted to medical school, Joe
ultimately decided to take a different,
but equally successful route. Since
graduating from Brigham Young
University, he has been working for
the Doctor Alliance Group as a product implementation consultant. As an
employee there, he developed their
sleep apnea treatment program.
Each of these four students took
advantage of their time at BYU, productively educating and supporting
each other through their weekly
collaborations. Their initial efforts
have helped them all to become
very successful. Of his friends, Joe
said, “I couldn’t ask for better guys
to go through BYU with.” ■
Spring 2014 ■ 9
These graduates have found
ways to "go forth and serve."
In late April, it is not uncommon to
see bright-eyed men and women,
garbed in navy robes and caps, their
colored tassels sifted by the wind,
waiting in line to take a photo with
the “Brigham Young University”
sign just west of campus. Inscribed
there beneath the school’s name is
its motto: “Enter to learn, go forth
to serve.” The responsibility to “go
forth to serve” is one not taken
lightly by alumni Ermira Pazolli,
Adam Calvert, and Trevor Ellison.
Embracing the scriptural epithet,
“For of him unto whom much is
given much is required,”1 these
graduates from the College of Life
Sciences are shining examples of
the service rendered across the
world with knowledge and abilities
gained at BYU.
Ermira Pazolli graduated Magna
Cum Laude in 2004 with a B.S. in
Microbiology, finding her studies
to be a “fantastic merger of biology and pathology of disease.”
She pursued a graduate degree in
microbiology until a “serendipitous encounter” with a professor
in cancer biology led Mira to her
current field. Now, she works at
a large pharmaceutical company,
AstraZeneca, which produces
pharmaceuticals for various diseases and conditions. Mira works
at the research and development
site in Waltham, Maine, where
she lives with her husband and
children. She primarily develops
disease-appropriate models and
investigates supposed oncology
targets.
Although faced with a wide
range of possibilities, Mira ultimately “decided to move to industry because [she] wanted to
take academic learnings and push
them to the clinic and see the real
10 ■ BYU College of Life Sciences
Students
"with Wings"
By Michael Rushton Jr.
impact in people’s lives.” She is
grateful that her current position
allows her to do just that. She says
“it has been an eye-opening experience to understand the drug
discovery process and at the same
time, exhilarating to see patients
benefit from our science.” Mira’s
occupation is a wonderful example
of giving back to the community in
a broader context, fulfilling the call
to serve.
Adam Calvert graduated Magna
Cum Laude from BYU in 2009
with a B.S. in biology and a minor
in business. He pursued a graduate
degree at the Keck Graduate Institute in Claremont, California, a
school that emphasizes business in
the life sciences. Adam felt a strong
desire to integrate his two areas of
study. Now, he works for Siemens
Healthcare Diagnostics in Boston,
Massachusetts. As a Research and
Development Project Manager,
he leads cross-functional teams to
"But they that wait
upon the Lord...
shall mount up
with wings as
eagles."
Isaiah 40:41
develop new products or upgrades
to current commercial products.
Adam has stretched himself to
meet the demands of his career,
which requires that he bridge the
gaps among disciplines and bring
his team together to meet the project goals and business objectives.
In the work force, Adam is a
literal steward over various teams.
Adam states that “the culture of
BYU has influenced me to reach
out to those in need around me,” a
virtue obviously taken to fruition
through Adam’s desires to not only
do the best work possible, but also
to help his team feel positive and
productive. Only then does he consider himself a successful steward.
Dr. Trevor Ellison graduated
Cum Laude from BYU in 2001 with
a B.S. in zoology, emphasizing in
human biology. Additionally he has
received an M.B.A. at Cambridge
University and is currently finishing a general surgical residency and
Ph.D. in economic evaluation and
policy at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, with
plans to complete a cardiac surgery
fellow­ship. Trevor’s decision to
attend BYU was last minute, but
he insists, “If I had to do it over…,
I would definitely go there again.”
BYU has provided Trevor with the
service-­oriented perspective that
he continues to embrace today. He
says he often thinks about going
forth to serve. “Throughout all
your years of learning, you can at
some point be helpful to somebody
because of what you were able to
learn.”
As a physician, Trevor has provided himself with the ability to give
back to his community in a powerful
way. The desire to do so, however, he
attributes to the values BYU instilled
within him. “BYU gives you the
mindset that you are giving back to a
community or a church or a family.
I definitely feel that responsibility
to do that.” He also states, “People
know I went to BYU so I try to be a
good example.”
The Old Testament prophet
Isaiah writes, “They that wait upon
the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as
eagles…”2 It is through people like
Mira, Adam, and Trevor that the
Lord lifts up his children throughout the world, using gifts cultivated
at
BYU to “go forth and serve.” ■
References
1. D&C 82:3
2. Isaiah 40:41
Spring 2014 ■ 11
Dr. Jeff Barrow works with the students in his lab group. Photo by Mark Philbrick.
"Something very
critical happens
to students
during their BYU
education."
By Dr. Jeff Barrow
Through personal mentoring, faculty fulfill the responsibility to help their students feel the light of the gospel.
While out on the East Coast, I had
the great privilege of serving as a
Primary teacher for The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
At the beginning of a new year, I
always asked the children in my
class to introduce themselves by
telling me a few things about themselves—where they were born, how
many siblings they had, and so on.
Generally two or three children per
class shared that they (or an older
sibling) were born in Provo, Utah,
while their parents were attending
Brigham Young University. As I
reflected upon the families from
which these Provo-born children
came, I realized that they were the
backbone of our ward. Without
question, BYU Admissions accurately selects outstanding young
men and women that are likely to
be strong future contributors academically as well as in the Church.
I would also submit that something
very critical happens to students
during their BYU education that
provides the actual experiences that
prepare them to go forth and serve
so valiantly.
In exit interviews for graduating
seniors performed by the Physiology
and Developmental Biology department (which would likely be echoed
by those given in other departments), students often cite personal
mentor­ing by faculty to be the most
significant academic and spiritual
experi­ence they had while at BYU.
This observation gives faculty pause
to reflect upon the mentoring experi­
ence they are providing for their students. I have taken the liberty to call
upon mentors throughout the college
to find out what they do in addition
to teaching great science to incorporate the spiritual into the classroom
and laboratory.
Several mentors mentioned that
they focus on keeping their own
personal lives in harmony with the
teachings of the gospel. Having the
Spirit as their guide, they are then
prepared for the teaching moments
that naturally and frequently arise
as they interact with their students.
In other scenarios, faculty
members purposefully seek out
opportunities to share spiritual
experiences with their students.
One faculty mentor mentioned that
he begins each lab meeting with
prayer. He tells his students that
one of the advantages of being at
BYU is the opportunity to pray as a
laboratory group to thank the Lord
for generous donors who help build
facilities and provide needed funds
to make their research possible. As
a laboratory group, they can ask for
help to make the best use of these
resources. They can request guidance to move their research along
paths that will be productive and
beneficial to the research and medical communities, and also to overcome technical hurdles that may be
hampering progress. They can ask
for assistance in the personal lives
of the members of the research
group. Students (including those of
different faiths) each take their turn
acting as the voice of these prayers.
The mentor has remarked that answers to these humble lab-meeting
prayers come often and students
learn a model of seeking spiritual
help for secular issues.
Another mentor holds a fireside
with her students each academic
year. She shares her spiritual journey of the challenges that she and
her family faced while becoming
educated. Her story, although
fraught with difficulty and disappointment, is about turning to
the Lord for spiritual solutions.
Students often mention to her
how much they needed to hear
her story. She sometimes receives
notes from students several years
later saying that the memory of her
experiences guided them through
their own challenges.
Students have tremendous opportunities to observe faculty when they
attend a scientific conference. One
student mentioned that his most significant spiritual training occurred
while observing his mentor in action
at a church meeting. He recalls that
despite a busy Sabbath day that
included a long travel itinerary, his
mentor took his lab entourage to
church. While there, they not only
attended the full three-hour block,
but also assisted a struggling ward
choir and provided a blessing to a
member in need.
Faculty members are not the only
ones that mentor; sometimes it is
the students that teach the faculty.
For example, one professor has a
tradition of asking students at lab
meetings following general conference to share their favorite insights.
He remembers that following one
conference, ninety percent of his
male students said that the entire
priesthood session had been their
favorite. While listening to his students, the professor rather sheepishly recalled that he had fallen asleep
during the first hour of the session,
woken up for the intermediate
hymn, and then became preoccupied with thinking about the steak
dinner he was going to enjoy with
his son after the meeting. The unified testimony of his students humbled and motivated the professor to
make this session a priority for his
personal study. This session continues to be a beacon in his life.
Personal mentoring in the laboratory is perhaps the most powerful way professors can touch the
individual lives of their students.
Indeed students often find these
opportunities to be the most
compelling academic and spiritual
experiences they had at BYU. They
then go forth and serve their communities, their families, and the
Church in significant ways. ■
Spring 2014 ■ 13
Moving In
By Jordan McDowell
What can students expect from the new Life Sciences Building?
Atrium looking south from the fifth level. Photo courtesy of Dr. Jim Porter.
The College of Life Sciences is
packing its bags and getting ready
to move. The move-in date, June 1,
2014, is fast approaching, and classes
begin in the “Life Sciences Building”
this upcoming fall semester. Students
and faculty alike can look forward to
some exciting improvements.
The best way to get to labs and
lectures in the new building is by
heading south on campus. Outdoor stairs on the north end of the
building lead to the third floor,
where double glass doors provide
access to the building. From there,
students can go down another flight
of stairs to the second floor, or the
“student level.” Those living south of
campus will be pleased to know that
there is also a southern entrance to
the building on the main floor with
elevators and stairs to get them up
to campus. Lecture halls, computer
labs, Student Services, and more
can all be found on the second floor.
Another improvement to expect
is the substantial increase of space.
Wider hallways and larger common
areas contribute to the sense of
openness throughout the building.
It was designed with more space in
order to encourage interaction and
collaboration. This increase of space
will allow students to talk together,
eat together, and work together.
This collaborative atmosphere will
also benefit faculty. In the words
of Dr. Jim Porter, associate dean of
the college, faculty members will be
working back-to-back in “state-ofthe-art” laboratories, which were
designed to foster increased interaction, unique ideas, and better
communication.
With these improvements, what
is expected of students? Dr. Porter
hopes that students will take advantage of the increased opportunities
for learning and collaboration. The
Life Sciences Building offers students the chance to learn how to
work together and help each other
learn. The ability to collaborate is
an important skill to acquire in
any field of study or area of work,
and the interaction-friendly space
allows students to do just that.
For more information about the
Life Sciences Building, read “Still
Moving Forward” in the Fall 2013
issue of the College of Life Sciences
Magazine. Construction progress can
also be viewed at webcam.byu.edu. ■
Building Levels
5
4
3
2
1
College offices, research
labs, and faculty offices
Department offices,
research labs, and faculty
offices
Research labs and faculty
offices
Teaching labs, classrooms, and Student
Services
Faculty and staff parking
garage
Jonathan Alder
Dr. Jonathan Alder grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he earned his B.A. in chemistry
with an emphasis in biochemistry from the University of Utah. He then went to Johns
Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, to earn his Ph.D. in cellular and molecular
medicine. He also completed his postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins, where he has
maintained a faculty position for nearly four years.
Alder will begin teaching cell biology in the fall 2014 semester. He looks forward to
working with students at BYU because of BYU’s reputation for having “very, very, very
good undergraduates.”
He and his wife, Meagan, have three children, and their family enjoys going to the beach
and visiting loved ones.
Mary Davis
Dr. Mary Davis grew up in Utah. She earned her bachelor's degree in clinical laboratory
science from BYU before earning her master's degree in applied statistics and a Ph.D. in
human genetics at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She has now returned
to BYU as a professor and will begin teaching in the medical laboratory science program
in the fall 2014 semester.
Davis’s goal is to help students prepare for their futures by showing them the many resources offered at BYU and by helping them discover the many directions they can go after
graduating.
Her pastimes include sewing, baking, reading books, playing board games, and hiking. She
enjoys spending time with her husband, Ryan, and their one “perfect, happy child,” Maggie.
Keith Kling
Keith Kling, who retired in March, is looking forward to spending more time with family.
This summer, he and his wife, Joy, will bicycle from Seaside, Oregon, to Bar Harbor, Maine,
for a family reunion.
Kling studied electronics technology at Utah Valley State College (now Utah Valley
University). Once he came to BYU, he was here to stay. Kling has enjoyed his associations with the students and his coworkers at BYU. His favorite thing to do at the Science
Support Shop was design, build, and debug custom electronics projects. He says, “I think
there is hope for the world because of the great young people who come to BYU and go
out into the world.”
Kim Poole
Kim Poole married her husband, Keith, in December 1978. She graduated from BYU with
her B.A. in English. After moving to Washington, Poole worked hard as a stay-at-home
mom, caring for her family. Years later, after moving back to Utah, Poole started working
at the BYU Bookstore in 2000. She joined the Theater and Media Arts office on campus in 2003, before becoming the department secretary in Exercise Sciences in 2011. As
department secretary, she worked as assistant to the chair, graduate secretary, scholarship
administrator, and financial assistant.
Since retiring in December 2013, Poole has spent her time gardening and writing. All
of her children live in the area, and everyone is excited about spending time outdoors
together this summer.
Spring 2014 ■ 15