Gayle E. Woloschak appointed director of Zygon Center for Religion and Science

We are pleased to announce that professor and molecular biologist Dr. Gayle E. Woloschak has been appointed Director of the Zygon Center, effective July 1, 2007.

Dr. Woloschak has worked with ZCRS since 2003, when she became Project Director for the Epic of Creation course. In that role, she collaborated with scientists and religious scholars to bring cutting-edge research and theological insights to seminary students and the general public. From March to July 2007, she chaired a steering committee charged with managing the operations of the Center. In May 2007 she was elected to the Board of Directors of Center for Advanced Studies in Religion and Science (CASIRAS).

Woloschak is professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology, Department of Radiology, and Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. She holds a Ph.D. in medical sciences (microbiology) from the Medical College of Toledo, Ohio, and was a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Immunology and Department of Cell Biology at the Mayo Clinic. Prior to her appointment at Northwestern University, she served as Senior Molecular Biologist in the Bioscience Division of Argonne National Laboratory and Senior Fellow of the Nanosciences Consortium of Argonne National Laboratory-University of Chicago.

Woloschak is an active leader in the Orthodox Church and serves on many church boards, commissions, and societies, including the Metropolitan Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Theological Society of America, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Commission for Science and Technology. She is the author of hundreds of scientific articles and three books on the Orthodox faith, including Challenge Questions on Orthodoxy and Beauty and Unity in Creation.

Dr. Woloschak is deeply committed to the religion-science dialogue and to the partnership of theologians and scientists in addressing critical issues in society. She says of her appointment, “I'm really excited about the opportunities at ZCRS… to deepen the dialogue between religious scholars and scientists, to teach seminary students about science, and to reach out and involve more members of the community in the work we do at the center.”

Woloschak will work closely with new staff member Lea F. Schweitz, who was recently appointed Associate Director at the Zygon Center.

Kadi Billman, Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC), says of ZCRS' new leadership: "The appointment of Gayle Woloschak as Director of ZCRS and Lea Schweitz as Associate Director constitutes a bold and exciting move for the center. ZCRS has long been known for its deep partnership between scientists and theologians. In Gayle Woloschak, ZCRS has a widely-published research scientist in the director's role who is also published in the area of religion. In Lea Schweitz, ZCRS has a systematic theologian whose intellectual roots are in the scientific field…. LSTC, together with its partners in CASIRAS, looks forward with eager anticipation to what ZCRS will accomplish in the years ahead with a great partnership and a winning team of leaders.”