Dr. Michael Wanous
Associate Professor of Biology and Chair of the Natural Science Division
B.S. University of Minnesota
M.S. Texas A&M
Ph. D. University of Missouri - Columbia

Please share a little about your past with us. Where did you grow up and go to school? What led you to Augustana and why do you stay?
I grew up in Minnesota around the Twin Cities and then when I was in high school, my parents went as missionaries to Kenya. So, I went through high school in a very international, Catholic high school in Nairobi run by Irish priests. Living in Kenya and going to St. Mary's Secondary School shaped me for the rest of my life. I attended the University of Minnesota for my bachelor's degree, Texas A&M for my master's, and the University of Missouri-Columbia for my Ph. D. and postdoctoral fellowship. When I interviewed at Augustana, I just felt right at home. Augie is a special place, and I really enjoy working with our students - they are outstanding both in academics and in character.

Congratulations on recently being published! What was your research topic? Do Augie students help with research?
Last academic year I went on sabbatical with my family to England. We lived in a little village, Wymondham, just outside of Norwich. I worked at the John Innes Centre, a world-class research institute in plant and microbial genetics. I worked with Dr. Graham Moore on a project to clone and understand the gene involved in chromosome pairing during meiosis in wheat. I had the privilege of participating with an excellent international team on a fascinating project and grew as a scientist. We published our results in the February 9, 2006 issue of the journal Nature. My project in England did not include any Augie students. However, my projects at Augustana always involve Augie students. We have been published in the journal Theoretical and Applied Genetics, and my students have made many research presentations at scientific meetings.

What are your current research interests?
My current research involves finding the genes that regulate the expression of gluten genes in wheat, which has important implications for baking quality and nutritional value. I am currently working on putting together my team of three or four students for the coming summer, and we are going to have a great team!

Why should students study biology at Augustana? What is unique about our program?
As with all programs at Augustana, our number one priority is excellence in teaching. That is what we have dedicated our lives to, and we continually strive to improve our teaching. Having said that, in the Biology department we also place a high value on staying active in research in our respective fields of study, and involving students in our research projects. Maintaining our skills as scientists helps us stay current in our disciplines and enables us to be better teachers.

What is your favorite class to teach at Augustana? Why?
That is hard to answer because I really like all of my classes in different ways. My Ph. D. is in Genetics, so I love teaching that class and sharing all the amazing new developments each year. I also teach Molecular Biology and that is a lot of fun because we spend a significant amount of time reading journal articles and learning about cutting-edge research. I am on the teaching teams for Cell Biology and Biological Principles I, and enjoy both of these- they pay me to think about and teach such fascinating subjects! Sometimes I teach Intro Biology for non-majors, and it's fun to see the light go on as non-science majors start to see the wonder of God's handiwork.

Many students have an interest in opportunities outside the classroom: studying abroad, internships, research, student organizations, etc. What kinds of opportunities do biology majors have at Augustana?
We encourage all of our students to take advantage of an overseas experience, and many of our biology majors take overseas courses. We even have places where we send students to take science classes. A good time to get in an international course is over our January interim session. Given that Sioux Falls is a regional center for medical care and biomedical research, we have many opportunities for our students to shadow health care professionals, do internships, and get part-time jobs in research labs. We actively seek out these types of opportunities for our biology majors, and because of how well students have done in the past, we get calls asking us for students to work in research labs part-time during the year. The Biology department participates in the BRIN grant through the USD School of Medicine and will be funding 18 Augustana students in research projects this summer, both at Augustana and USD School of Medicine laboratories. We also typically fund students in summer research projects through grants obtained by individual faculty members in the department. As far as student organizations go, we have the Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society and the Pre-Med Club.

What are some of your interests outside of Augustana?
I enjoy reading, gardening, hiking, camping and running when I have time.

Are there any accomplishments or things that you're particularly proud of that you'd like to share with us?
It is very rewarding to receive teaching evaluations at the end of the semester and find out that you succeeded in making biology alive to students and that they got excited about the class. I have also been very fortunate to have some great summer research teams during my time here, and many of my research students have gone on to graduate or professional schools. The year in England, and the publication in Nature, were also highlights.

Do you interact with students outside of the classroom?
One of the advantages of being in the sciences is labs. Professors and students spend a lot of time together in there. As an advisor, I spend a lot of time with my students talking about planning their courses and thinking about their long-term goals. For Beta Beta Beta, we have an annual dinner together and also a highway clean-up afternoon. I usually have my summer research students over for dinner, and once my students had me over for a spaghetti dinner they had made. That was a lot of fun!

What is the best thing about being a part of the Augustana community?
As I said earlier, Augustana is a special place. People are friendly and we have great students. I also appreciate the freedom to discuss the interaction of faith and learning with my students.