Biology Faculty

Dr. Nelson received his BA from North Park College in 1978. He studied medicine at the University of Illinois and received his medical degree in 1984. He completed a residency in internal medicine and a three year fellowship in infectious diseases at Rush Medical Center. He served as an attending physician in the infectious disease group at Rush and hospital epidemiologist prior to coming to North Park in 1998. His academic interests include human anatomy and medical parasitology. He continues to teach in the Chicago Infectious Disease Board Review course each fall and volunteer in the Rush Medical College anatomy lab. For two decades his research has involved work with vector-borne diseases, particularly Lyme disease. This work has built relationships with public health and forestry colleagues. He enjoys sport and theater photography and travel with his family.

Dr. Al Bjorkman received his BA in Biology at North Park University in 1972, and MS in Conservation Education Michigan State University in 1974. He received a Ph.D. in Land Resources University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1998. He has taught at North Park since 1995. Dr. Bjorkman’s academic interests include recreational trail Impacts, native plants, and sustainable agriculture. He developed the new (2009) Environmental Science major and is the program’s chief advisor. Bjorkman is active in the development of a master plan and zoning regulations and in the administration of land use and zoning for the Town of Lyons in Walworth County, Wisconsin where he has sat as the secretary of the Town Plan Commission since 1999. He also has developed and runs field biology course trips including Tropical Ecology of Costa Rica, Ecology of the Boreal Forest wilderness canoe trips to NW Ontario, and a sustainable agriculture course, Prairie Ranch Resources, traveling from Old Order Amish communities in Wisconsin to a ranch on the mid-grass prairies of central South Dakota. He teaches Environmental Science, Introduction to Botany, Tropical Ecology of Costa Rica, Ecology of the Boreal Forest, Prairie Ranch Resources, Economic Botany, Native Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers of the Great Lakes Region, and Ecology.

Dr. Lin received his BS degree in Biology at Tunghai University, Taiwan in 1991. He then received a MS in Crop Physiology, LSU in 1997. After that he worked for the Academia Sinica in Taiwan for few years. He completed his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, University of Iowa in 2007. He joined North Park in 2008. Dr. Lin’s research interest includes gene expression analysis of plant stress responses, and gene functional analysis with bioinformatics tools. Based on this interest, he recently developed a new research approach which is designed to provide student research experience. He is an active member of American Society of Plant Biologist (ASPB) and closely collaborates with other molecular biologists for research. In his spare time, Dr. Lin also works on the translation of life science related text books to Chinese. He also serves as Academic Adviser of Mercy Christian Charitable Foundation, Kyrgyzstan to promote Christian higher education in Muslim country. Outside of the class room, he has been working with a couple of Chinese Bible study groups. Occasionally Dr. Lin also preaches in Chinese Bible study groups/Chinese churches in numerous locations. Tim has two boys Andrew and Caleb. His favorite activity is cooking for his boys. Dr. Lin currently teaches Cell Biology, Microbes and Society (GE), Molecular Biology and Topics in Bioinformatics.

Dr. Pearson graduated from North Park College in 1965 with a BA in Biology. He received a MS in Zoology in 1967 and a Ph.D. in Physiology from Penn State University in 1970. From 1970 to 1976, he taught in the Physiology Department of the University of Louisville Medical School. At North Park, he teaches courses in Advanced Human Physiology, Comparative Anatomy, Gross Anatomy, Comparative Physiology and on the Nobel Prize. He is the Chairman of the Pre-Professional Committee. He enjoys the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, golf and his grand kids.

Dr. Schau received his B.A. in Biology from Carthage College in 1998 and his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2004. His academic interests include Cellular Biology, Genetics and Molecular Biology. He has worked with Linda Vick and Carol Martin to develop the Biology Department’s writing advisor program which aims to develop students writing capabilities in the sciences. His research interests include: bacterial signal transduction and gene regulation and he has worked with undergraduates at North Park for the past four years on projects in these areas. In the fall of 2009, he began a project in collaboration with Justin Topp and Jeff Nelson in order to use molecular biology techniques to characterize the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi isolates from the greater Chicago area. This work will also include a number of North Park undergraduate students. As part of his interests in undergraduate research, he has worked with a number of other faculty on campus to help create the annual North Park Undergraduate Research Symposium. Dr. Schau has been at North Park since 2004. Dr. Schau teaches Introduction to Cell Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Directed Research in Biology, Honors Research in Biology, Biology Senior Comprehensive Exam.

Dr. Linda Vick, earned her BS in Biology at Tufts University in 1966. She completed an MS in Biology in 1968 and a PhD in Biology in 1972 at the University of Illinois Urbana . She has been on the biology faculty at North Park since 1976. Dr. Vick’s primary areas of interest are in animal behavior and marine biology. Research interests in reproductive behavior and physiology have led to additional interests in developmental biology and histology. She is on the Academic Council of Au Sable Institute of EnvironmentaI Studies and serves as North Park’s liaison to Au Sable. Dr. Vick maintains close connections with the Shedd Aquarium and has facilitated many internships for students in various departments of the aquarium. Along with Al Bjorkman, she is engaged in the new Environmental Science major. In addition to campus-based courses, she has developed and led a variety of field courses and trips including Marine Biology of the Bahamas, Watershed Biology [Ethiopia], and Trail of Tears. Dr Vick worked with Carol Martin and Matt Schau in the implementation of the Biology Department writing advisor program which fosters the development of written communication skills in the sciences. She is the pre-professional advisor for students seeking careers in Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. Dr. Vick’s outside interests include quilting, photography, miniatures, and cooking. Courses that Dr. Vick regularly teaches include: Zoology, Animal Behavior, Marine Biology, Natural History of Vertebrates, Evolutionary Theories, Histology, Embryology, and Medical Terminology.

Dr. Drew Rholl received his BS in Biology from North Park University in 2004. In 2011 he earned his PhD in Microbiology with a focus on bacterial genetics from Colorado State University. His dissertation focused on antimicrobial resistance mechanisms of the Select Agent bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei. Between studying at NPU and CSU, he briefly worked in the pharmaceutical industry, as an environmental monitoring technician, and at Harvard School of Public Health, researching ultraviolet light as a method of inactivating airborne viruses.

Back in the day, Dr. Rholl was on the NPU ultimate frisbee team, men’s rowing club, and was a regular member of the Carlson Crazies. His interests include the outdoors, tossing the frisbee and do-it-yourself home improvement projects.