Meet the Experts

Bill grew up learning about God and science. His love for science really took off at school, when he was ‘wow-ed’ by the diversity of life he could see in a single drop of water (using a microscope). At university he studied physics, and he also took religion and philosophy classes. Out of all these different ways of understanding the world, he felt particularly excited about learning about the brain, which he felt held so many secrets about how we experience life. This led to him running a neuroscience lab exploring how our brains help us see, and make decisions.

As a Christian, he loves helping people understand how scientific knowledge like this can be a gift which we can explore alongside ideas about meaning and purpose from religious faith.

You can read more about his story, here, about neuroscience and his faith, here, or listen to him speak about his life and work through a range of short videos, each of which is less than 3 minutes long.

Bob studies how volcanoes work and likes to visit them when they are erupting! He looks at the Earth’s crust and how volcanic rock is produced, and, because of his research work, he was even awarded a gold medal from the Royal Astronomical Society. Bob also spends his time helping people think about the responsibility he believes God has given us to look after the planet he made. Bob fully believes that science and religion have important roles to play – he helped set up The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion.

You can explore more about volcanoes on our ‘volcano explosion’ activity page, here.

Gillian studied the physics of Australian storm cloud systems and loves science, which she says is one of the wonderful ways we can study God’s world. She also studied theology (the study of God and religion) and is fascinated by how science and faith both inform the way we think about life. Gillian has had times in her life when she has been ill, and she uses this experience to help her lead a health and faith charity, and she loves helping people to think about how science, faith and health connect together.

Explore her story and work via her website, https://linktr.ee/gillianstraine.

Whilst she was at University, Julia felt that she wanted to explore how her science and her Christian faith could work together. Since they both stimulated her curiosity, she brought them together in her own personal life. She also began to think about how different elements of faith and spirituality can help scientists, healthcare providers and patients.

Julia’s faith motivates her to try and help others, and this is something she lives out in her medical and scientific career.  She researches the most common type of liver disease globally. This disease involves abnormal fat storage which relates to how the body uses energy. Julia considers it a huge privilege to partner with patients – listening to them, answering their questions to empower them in their own health and changing the way science and technology are used to care for people.

Julia’s work means that she witnesses great suffering and perseveres through challenges; she tries to help people as they experience suffering themselves. This can be very difficult, particularly when recognition and earlier intervention could prevent it. She finds that her Christian faith, the Bible, prayer, worship through music and a community that fosters resilience and meaning are powerful tools which help her endure and maintain hope.  She has found that these supports not only helps her to cope with the challenges of working in science, academic medicine and healthcare, but inspires her pursuit of truth and justice in tackling the wider challenges to human flourishing.

You can hear more from Julia in this article, as she chats about cake and coping during the 2020 covid lockdown, in this article about living out her faith in her approach to work, or in this video filmed at a Christian conference in the USA.

Margaret grew up loving the natural world and loving God, although, for quite a while, she thought about them separately. She now loves to think about how her desire to care for the natural world is motivated by her faith, and how this ‘creation care’ is actually an important part of what she believes God has asked us to do on Earth.

When exploring the oceans as a SCUBA diver, Margaret was drawn to the beauty of coral, and felt a strong desire to protect them from the many threats they face. She now studies the coral life cycle, and works to create tools and technologies which will help – like raising coral babies in labs and protecting them until they are ready to go into the ocean.

Because coral reefs are facing a real risk of extinction, Margaret’s work can feel hard, emotionally. She is encouraged to keep going because she believes God has asked us to take care of the world, and the poor, who will suffer most if the environment suffers. Margaret loves to help people who believe in God see the difference they can make by looking after the world they believe he has created.

You can explore the type of work Margaret does, here, and hear her talk about her science and faith through a range of short videos – most of which are under 3 minutes long.

Roger studies big events like earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, hurricanes and pandemics, and how people respond to them when they impact their lives. He has talked to people recovering from catastrophic events in Haiti, New Orleans, the Philippines and here in the UK – listening to stories of fear, anger, hope and trust. His Christian faith drives him to want to help people who are suffering, and his faith and research work help him to think about how we can prevent these events from becoming disasters in the future.

You can read more about Roger’s work, here. Younger readers (aged 7 and upwards) can find his thoughts about the question ‘If God is really in control why are there so many natural disasters?’ in the book: “101 Big Questions about Science and God“.

Roger uses science to explore how people’s minds work and how the things that we think can make us better people. He asks questions like, ‘Does being thankful make us happier?’; ‘How can we make wise choices?’ and ‘Are humble leaders better leaders?’. Roger enjoys exploring how these parts of who we are relate to the ideas we have about God, faith and religion.

Meet Roger as he answers 20 questions about his work and life in 4 minutes, here!

Sigourney grew up going to church, but it was actually her time at university, studying science, which drew her closer to God and a relationship with Jesus.

Sigourney studied biomedical sciences (exploring how the human body works, to help care for ill people). Many people around her questioned how someone could be a Christian and a scientist. This was challenging for her because no one had ever spoken to her about how science and faith weren’t opposite. Once leaving university and going on to do her PhD, some of these conversations made her think more deeply about science, religious faith, and different types of evidence, and led her to realise that it is OK to question these things. By exploring her questions, she found herself becoming more sure that God is there, and that she could treasure the Bible while also doing science – she didn’t have to choose.

Sigourney originally thought she wanted to become a doctor but a brilliant lecture about nerves and the brain, and an experience looking down the microscope, led to her passion for research. Her PhD and research work since then have focused on studying children’s cancer, particularly in the brain, in the hope that she can reduce the number of children who suffer because of the disease.

When Sigourney first started her PhD, she hadn’t met a single black woman with a PhD. This realisation encouraged her to connect with other black scientists working in cancer, and to co-found an organisation called ‘Black in Cancer’ to highlight their work – providing inspiration, support and resources to help other young black people visualise a place for themselves in the sciences. Through ‘Black in Cancer’ she also reaches out to black communities, spreading awareness about cancer and helping people face important healthcare decisions.

Throughout her scientific work, Sigourney has increasingly felt that it is not only just ‘OK’ for a Christian to do science, but that uncovering the great detail involved in making life happen can actually enhance her faith in the God she believes made it all, and help her to better care for people as she believes God wants her to do.

You can find out more about Sigourney’s work and passions through the ‘Black in Cancer’ website, this BBC article, or by listening to her talk with Kunal Nayyar (actor in the series: Big Bang Theory), here.