Will anyone from ASA (or any reader of this listserv) be attending the
Evolution meetings in Bloomington Indiana June 22-25? I'd enjoy meeting
you if you are. I'm giving a talk and a poster.
----As long as I'm posting this query, and it is my first post to the listserv, I might as well introduce myself. I will likely be contributing more in the future, though I am not likely to be as prolific as some of you.
A couple of weeks ago, I successfully defended my dissertation and completed my Ph.D. in evolutionary and population biology from Washington University in St. Louis. My research centered on molecular evolution of ribosomal DNA within and among related species of the plant genus _Arabidopsis_ (one species of this plant genus, _A. thaliana_, is the model organism in plant genetics, analogous to fruitflies). For those that aren't familiar molecular biology, ribosomal DNA (rDNA) is the term given to the DNA that encodes the hundreds of tandemly repeated copies of the ribosomal RNA genes. Ribosomal RNAs form the main component of ribosomes, which are responsible for all translation of proteins. Concerted evolution refers to a specific pattern of sequence variation among the hundreds of repeated rRNA genes when measured within and among species. If people are interested, perhaps I'll post a simple review of this interesting topic at some later date.
I've been a practicing Christian as long as I can remember. I was raised on the mission field (Iran from 1972-1979) and in Brookfield, Wisconsin where my father is a mission pastor for a large church. Curiously, my strong Evangelical roots (actually S. Baptist in my grandparents' generation) did not bias me against an interest in evolutionary biology. I majored in botany at the U of WI-Madison (some Calvin C. folk may remember Ken Systma, who was one of my professors). I attended U of Texas- Arlington from 1989-1991, where I earned my M.S. in biology while my wife earned hers in Linguistics. I started at Wash. U. in St. Louis in 1991. Before completing my dissertation, I served as a sabbatical replacement for Fred Van Dyke at Northwestern College for 1998-1999. This last year, I have been in Rockford IL for the sake of a steady job and to be near extended family while I finished writing. (I have 3 small children, and as some of you may know this presents unusual challenges to the Christian father and graduate student).
Until now, I have kept a very low profile in discussions of science/faith and creation/evolution. In fact, over the years, I haven't really paid very close attention to the debates and discussions. Indeed, to keep up with the latest H. Ross, P. Johnson, Behe, or ID publicity campaign or book and all the threads of discussion that follows is an entire field of study in itself. (But, yes, I have read _Darwin on Trial_ and _Darwin's Black Box_). Most of what these discussions wrestle with as of great importance has little bearing on what practicing evolutionary biologist do, and I have not found it of much use in helping me to be a witness for Christ among my colleagues. Nevertheless, I do take issues of science/faith seriously, and I seek to help Christians formulate a worldview that is consistent with both of God's revelations. I joined the ASA four years ago, after I read H. Van Till's _Science Held Hostage_, which I had found in my church's library. (Later, upon my request, Dr. Van Till graciously sent me a copy the out-of-print book and encouraged me to consider joining ASA). PSCF published my letter to the editor in this year's March issue. I just joined this listserv recently.
Perhaps I'll make contributions to this forum in the near future. Boy, it feels good to have that dissertation behind me!
Sincerely, Doug Hayworth
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Douglas Hayworth, Ph.D. (Evolutionary and Population Biology) Department of Biomedical Sciences UIC College of Medicine at Rockford 1601 Parkview Avenue, Rockford, IL 61107-1897 Phone: 815-395-5894 Fax: 815-395-5666 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
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