Using mathematical and scientific methods to study the natural world
The Integrated Math & Natural Sciences (IMNS) major is designed for students eager to study the natural world through advanced classes in Math, Physical Sciences, and Life Sciences. The IMNS major provides training in how to think empirically about the world around us and how to apply a biblical worldview to the natural sciences.
Students in this program complete courses needed to perform well on the MCAT and for entry into medical school. Students may also wish to pursue teaching in middle- or high-school-level math and science.
The IMNS courses expand on the PHC Core Curriculum’s science classes with advanced courses in Biology and Physics while adding Statistics, Calculus, and Chemistry. Students also complete an additional 15 credits of electives, choosing from courses in advanced mathematics, organic chemistry, and other sciences, as well as ethics, or additional apprenticeships. The program’s apprenticeship component includes the opportunity for clinical and research internships as well as directed research projects in the sciences.
Students Will:
Mike Jackson teaches biology. His research focuses on the real-world impact of vaccination programs, including questions of vaccine effectiveness, vaccine safety, and underlying pathogen transmission dynamics. He has operated active surveillance systems for influenza, built mathematical models of Neisseria meningitidis transmission in Africa, and developed novel methods for studying vaccine effectiveness in human populations. Dr. Jackson has over 140 papers published in the biomedical literature. In addition, he has worked in applied public health at both the local and federal levels and has worked as an epidemiologist on the data science teams of several health tech start-ups.
Tracey McGrath teaches courses in physics and advanced math. She holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University in Computational Geophysical Fluid Dynamics. Dr. McGrath has an impressive educational background including teaching at both CalTech and Harvard University. Dr. McGrath has also created mathematical and economic models for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Marissa Walraven teaches chemistry and calculus. She earned two B.S. degrees from Liberty University: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Mathematics. She received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Georgia, and specialized in Quantum Chemistry research.
She focuses on using ab initio quantum mechanical methods to solve electronic structure problems for small, gas-phase molecules that are important for combustion chemistry and atmospheric chemistry. This entails using computers to solve the equations that describe how electrons move in molecules.
