Alumni Profiles

Dr. Mike U. Smith 

Dr. Mike U. Smith, Ph.D. (Class of 1972) was one of 486 scholars nationwide recently named as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).  Dr. Smith received this distinction “for distinguished research and leadership in teaching and learning genetics, problem solving, evolution, and the nature of science and for service in HIV prevention.”  Only seven people in education nationwide received this honor for 2008.

Mike is Professor of Medical Education and Director of AIDS Education and Research at the Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM), Department of Internal Medicine in Macon, GA where he has been on the faculty since 1985.  Mike is also an adjunct professor of the Emory University Center for AIDS research in Atlanta.  Mike also recently raised money and arranged for a shipment of $250,000 of medical supplies to be sent to the Baptist Hospital in Sanyati, Zimbabwe.  Dr. Smith visited Baptist hospitals, seminaries, hospices, etc. in 2006 and established a program to send MUSM students to work in bush hospitals and clinics there as soon as the political situation stabilizes.

Mike is currently involved developing a program to teach youth with HIV to be peer counselors for other HIV+ teens.  He is also the lead investigator in a program sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and then Indian Health Service to revise a peer educator training curriculum he developed earlier for HIV/STD prevention among rural youth.  The new curriculum, called Native STAND (Students Together Against Negative Decisions), will be tailored for Native American Youth across the US.

Mike has one son, Art, who is in the US Army Military Police and stationed in Korea.  Mike has one grandson, Caleb Michael, born June 26, 2008.

Wesley H. Stepp

Wesley H. Stepp—Hunter, as many in the Union community know him— graduated from Union in the spring of 2008. Since his departure, he has experienced a world of opportunities, including a summer spent in France, broadening his horizons. Upon his arrival at Georgetown to pursue a master’s degree in the fall of 2008, he acquired a staff consultant position in environmental science with the EPA using the eco-toxicology and environmental chemistry background he received in his Union coursework and also began work on his master’s thesis. Having never studied virology in depth, he chose a mentor who is renowned in the scientific community for the study of hepatitis viruses.

Coursework at the graduate level, although challenging, was much different than Hunter’s undergraduate experience. He believes the teachers at Union definitely prepared him for the rigors of graduate school in terms of information to know and the way that graduate schools test. In both regards, he felt himself to be well ahead of most of his peers due to that experience.

After major progress in his thesis work during the spring semester, Stepp learned that he would be able to graduate with his MSafter only one year. In late March, he was accepted into the PhDprogram in the same department where he was completing his master’s work. Simultaneously, he was awarded a pre-doctoral fellowship appointment at the Naval Medical Research Center where he could complete his dissertation research for a Ph.D. In keeping with his busy personality, he also accepted a position to coordinate clinical research in the Department of Orthopaedics at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

For the next 3-5 years, Hunter will be in Washington DC finishing his doctoral degree and from there, the world is an oyster—so the saying goes. Ultimately, he would like to end up in one of two places: working either as a research professor at a university, or as a medical scientist (MD/ PhD) conducting translational medical research (research that takes lab work directly into patient care).

Jennifer Carter-Johnson

 Jennifer graduated from Union in May of 1996 with a major in both Biology and Mathematics.  In 2003, she received a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Virginia.  While in graduate school, Jennifer decided that she was more interested in the impact that science has on society rather than in conducting scientific research herself, so after graduation she went to law school, and in 2006, she received a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.  From 2006 to 2008, Jennifer practiced intellectual property law with an emphasis on patent licensing and biotechnology business start ups in Seattle, WA with Perkins Coie LLP.  Since 2008, she has been teaching Biotechnology and the Law, Patent Law, and first year Property Law at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, MO.  Jennifer’s research interests revolve around the ways in which society regulates scientific research, both from an intellectual property/business perspective, as well as from an ethical perspective.  Jennifer is currently on the academic job market for a tenure track position at a law school.  When asked if she felt prepared by Union while attending graduate school, Jennifer replied, “I have always felt that Union University gave me a very firm foundation on which to grow after Union.  I have attended graduate school with students from some of the premiere universities in the country and never felt outclassed.”

Regarding her future in biology, Jennifer would like to become a voice in the legal community for scientists.  She said there are troubling attacks on scientific research and discourse from businesses that only see the financial bottom line, and she would like to help others look beyond the immediate financial gains promised by science to see the larger picture of how best to fund and direct scientific progress for the good of all people.  There are many advancements in science that Jennifer hopes to see in the future, such as providing better health care by curing diseases, raising algae farms to provide bio fuels, and growing new drought-resistant crops to diminish hunger in third world countries.

Jennifer currently lives in St. Louis, MO with her husband of three years, Jeff.  They want to start a family but have had difficulties, so keep Jennifer and Jeff in your prayers.

Dr. Cathie Scarbrough

Dr. Cathie Scarbrough received the call to international medical outreach as a high school student. Upon joining the Union community, Dr. Scarbrough found an environment that she said not only provided her with a quality education, which served her well as a medical student, but also supported and encouraged her call. The Union environment was so supportive, in fact, that Dr. Scarbrough was able to travel on her first overseas trip to Costa Rica during her time there.

After receiving her undergraduate degree from Union, Dr. Scarbrough went on to attend medical school at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center. Despite this busy time in her life, Dr. Scarbrough was able to serve with several more teams abroad including her first medical trip to El Salvador. Over the years, she has served in Central and South America, West Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia; each trip provided new and unique lessons and opportunities.

During a fourth-year medical school rotation, Dr. Scarbrough’s decision to pursue international medical work was cemented when she spent two months in northeast Thailand using her profession to further the Kingdom. She recently returned from fourteen months in Central Asia teaching at a family medicine residency program. “The best part was being a part of a community of believers abroad. The depth of friendships was unlike any that I had experienced previously. It was an amazing thing to work with other believers of all different backgrounds and cultures toward a common purpose - a real glimpse of the true kingdom.”

Now back in the United States, Dr. Scarbrough is working in a small community northeast of Birmingham, Alabama, as a family medicine physician doing both inpatient and outpatient work, although her service abroad isn’t over. When asked about her future, Dr. Scarbrough says, “I feel that since God has provided me with an education, support, and opportunities to go, I should go whenever and wherever He sees fit to lead. The more places I go, the more opportunities I see. After all, the Great Commission is a command, not an option.”

Hannah Henson

Hannah Henson is a 2009 graduate of Union University. As a freshman at Union, Ms. Henson took Dr. Weaver’s Principles of Biology class.  This class was very influential in Ms. Henson’s decision to pursue a degree in Biology.  She remembers the class as fun and interesting, while also putting into perspective how studying biology was also the opportunity to study God's creation. 

Now, she is a PhD student at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tennessee. When asked how Union prepared her for her current work, Ms. Henson goes back to her first years as a PhD student and remembers the class work she completed as being very similar to work she completed as an undergraduate at Union. While these classes were fast-paced, she felt prepared because she had learned much of the information at Union. She says classes in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Genetics, and Developmental Biology were especially helpful in preparing her for her current work. 

As part of the Integrated Program in the Biomedical Sciences at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Ms. Henson is on the Cancer and Developmental Biology track.  Through this program she has the opportunity to conduct research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital studying the blood-brain barrier and blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier. She joined a lab at St. Jude last May in the Chemical Biology and Therapeutics Department and says that she really enjoys working in the lab. She says she is finally get the chance to apply what she has learned in the classroom to everyday work.

            Ms. Henson is especially appreciative of the faith-based education she received at Union.  She remembers how well her teachers integrated faith and learning in the classroom and says that this type of education really prepared her for the challenges she has faced during graduate school as she has come to realize that the science community is very much of a mission field. In fact, one of her best memories of Union was a GO trip she had the opportunity to go on to Honduras during spring break of her junior year.

            When asked about her future plans, Ms. Henson says she is open to all possibilities. For now she is enjoying the research involved with her PhD work. She does hope to one day go on to do post-doctoral research and later teach biology at the college level while still being involved in research.