Thomas S. Ingebritsen
Dr. Ingebritsen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology at Iowa State University. He received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Indiana University in 1979. His current research interest is the pedagogy of online education. He teaches an on-line biotechnology course, an on-line introductory biology course for life science majors and an honors seminar about the interaction of science and theology.
Biographical Information
Dr. Ingebritsen grew up in Oregon and received a Bachelors Degree in chemistry from Oregon State University in 1968. He then moved to Indianapolis, Indiana where he worked for a drug company, Eli Lilly, for ten years. He was in their Atherosclerosis drug development program where he did research on cholesterol metabolism. During that period he was also working on his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the Indiana University School of Medicine also in Indianapolis. He completed that degree in 1979. He then went to Scotland where he spent three years at the University of Dundee on a Postdoctoral Fellowship. In 1982 he returned to the United States and took a faculty position in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Colorado, School of Medicine in Denver. He has been at Iowa State University since 1986 where he is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Genetics Development and Cell Biology.
During the early part of his career, his research interests were in the area of signal transduction. This field has to do with how cells in an organism communicate with one another. He was interested in the details of how these processes work at the molecular level. About 8 years ago, he became interested in using the Internet for instruction. As a result of that, he changed research directions. His major research area now is in the pedagogy of online learning. He teaches two on-line courses Gen 308/508 (Biotechnology in Agriculture, Food and Human Health) and Biol 202 (Principles of Biology II). He is Director of the LAS Center for On-Line Learning. This is a college facility with the mission of helping faculty develop and deliver online instructional materials. He is also Director of Project BIO, a program that develops online courses and instructional material in the Biology area.
My Personal Story
I was raised in a semi-Christian home. My mother was a believer but my father was not. When I was growing up I went to church and Sunday school on a regular basis, I went to church camp, I was in a youth group but I didn’t understand who Jesus was. I didn’t understand why He died on the cross and I didn’t understand that I could have a personal relationship with him. I didn’t understand what any of this meant for my life.
When I went to college I quit going to church. Sunday morning was a good time to sleep in. After I graduated from college I got married and I had two children, Eric and Tracy. During this period the focus of my life was myself and my career. Additionally because of my science background, I began to question whether God even existed.
Then in the early 1980’s, my personal life began to fall apart. I went through a period of about 10 years when my life was just a mess. My marriage broke up and my kids ended up living with their mom in Florida. I got married a second time on the rebound and that marriage was a disaster and didn’t last. At the end of that period I found myself living alone and very much afraid of relationships. I began to feel that there had to be more to life than what I was experiencing. Also I began to realize that my life might be more than half over and I began to worry about what was going to happen when I died.
Then the Lord led me to a Christian singles group. Over the next year through going to church, reading the bible and through fellowship with friends in the singles group I came to know who Jesus was . I learned that he died for my sins and that because of that I could have a personal relationship with him. I also learned that knowing Jesus could make a difference in my life. I still had questions about how science fit with my faith in God, but I considered that unimportant compared with the peace and joy that came from knowing Jesus. In September 1992 I gave my life to the Lord.
When I look back over the last almost 12 years I see that my life has changed in remarkable ways. The Lord brought a wonderful woman named Denise into my life and we were married 11 years ago yesterday. God has blessed Denise and I with a special son, Isaac and he restored my relationship with my two older children, Eric and Tracy.
Even more importantly than that, God has given me a new perspective on life and a new way of living. I know now that I am on a journey and the focus of that journey is not me, but Jesus Christ. This journey is about growing in my relationship with Christ and about glorifying him through my service and my relationships with others. I am not alone on this journey but Christ is with me, He leads me. He comforts me and gives me hope in times of trouble. He gives me power to accomplish things that I could not do alone. Whereas before I struggled with relationships, now my personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the knowledge of his unfailing love for me is the foundation for all my relationships. Whereas before my future looked bleak, now I have the wonderful hope of spending eternity with Jesus
Significant Verses
Psalm 139:1-4,13,16,23-24 (NLT) – O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away. You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Galations 2:20 (NIV) – I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Romans 12:2 (NIV) – Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.