From Research to Real-World Impact: The Life Sciences Concentration

September 05, 2025

• Life Sciences
• Campus News

"Science isn't just about learning facts," said Assistant Professor of Biochemistry Robert Levenson, who teaches in the Life Sciences Concentration at SUA. "It's about creating new ones. Science is an active and creative process."

This approach to science drives the curriculum of the LS Concentration, which not only gives students a solid foundation in scientific knowledge, but provides opportunities for hands-on research in subjects ranging from marine biology to drug design.

"We strive to teach our students early on how to think like a scientist," said Lisa Crummett, associate professor of biology. In addition to offering all the prerequisite courses needed to apply to medical, dental, or physical therapy school, the LS Concentration helps students acquire real laboratory skills and field techniques that prepare them for graduate programs and careers in diverse scientific disciplines.

In the spring semester of 2025, 35% of SUA life sciences seniors were accepted into graduate programs in various fields, including biology, nursing, and bioinformatics. Other LS graduates went directly to work as clinical scientists or laboratory technicians. Behind these extraordinary results is an academic concentration that combines scientific rigor with liberal arts flexibility, allowing each student to carve out a path that supports their individual goals.

Many students choose to concentrate in LS because they want to pursue a career that helps others, whether that means becoming a medical doctor, researching endangered species, designing new drugs or vaccines, or improving scientific literacy among the general public as a science writer or educator. The LS Concentration supports all these career paths and more, providing a meaningful education that prepares students to contribute to humanity.

The Life Sciences Concentration: Science That Solves Real Problems

Founded in 2020, LS is the newest academic concentration at SUA. Students can learn about biology at different scales, from molecular and cell biology to the biology of organisms and ecosystems. They can also acquire a foundation in chemistry and physics. A wide variety of electives -- including biochemistry, genetics, genomics and bioinformatics, evolutionary biology, microbiology, zoology, human physiology, clinical human anatomy, biostatistics, and drug design -- enables students to delve deep into their interests and discover areas of the life sciences they may not have been exposed to previously.

Common across these diverse course offerings is a teaching approach that applies scientific concepts to practical problems, helping students understand not only the material but also its broader significance. A prime example of what this looks like is Integrated Biology and Chemistry, an LS course that uses the theme of cancer biology to teach introductory biology and chemistry content.

"The easiest way to understand how cells work," said Susan Walsh, associate professor of molecular/cell biology, "is to look at a situation where they don't work correctly and then ask how things change." The lens of cancer biology, Walsh explained, also motivates students to master fundamental concepts more effectively than the rote goal of making it through a textbook. Integrated Biology and Chemistry is co-taught by a biologist and a chemist in the same classroom, an innovative approach that enables students to simultaneously learn the chemistry behind biological processes.

The LS Concentration also shapes future scientists through project-based laboratory courses where students participate in authentic research. Many science programs at larger universities do not have the resources to give every student practical laboratory experience. When students do get the chance to perform an experiment, it is often a cookie-cutter exercise achieving a result that the instructor knows in advance.

But in project-based laboratory courses at SUA, students design and carry out experiments in a professor's current area of research, and neither the professor nor the students know the outcome ahead of time. In this way, students contribute to ongoing research and gain firsthand experience in the scientific process as part of their coursework.

"It was life-changing for me," said Maria Akenkou '25 of Rabat, Morocco, describing how much she learned in the project-based laboratory course on cell biology that she took during her second year. "My skill set in the lab doubled."

More Than Biology: The Interdisciplinary Advantage of the LS Concentration

A key difference between the LS Concentration and a biology major in a more traditional undergraduate program is the interdisciplinary design of the life sciences at SUA. LS students have the opportunity to explore different areas of biology, chemistry, and biochemistry and can receive mentorship from experts in any of these subjects. Furthermore, the fact that all LS students earn a B.A. in liberal arts means that they learn how to be well-rounded thinkers who make critical connections between LS and social and behavioral sciences, international studies, environmental studies, and the humanities.

For example, an LS student interested in developing and testing a new drug would have the opportunity to investigate research questions beyond how the drug interacts with the human body, explained Zahra Afrasiabi, professor of chemistry and director of the LS Concentration.

"You might ask, 'What are the psychological or behavioral effects of this medication?'" Afrasiabi said. "Or you might bring in the role of science in society and ask how cultural beliefs may affect the use of this drug. You might think of the global picture and ask how social and economic factors could influence access to this treatment in different areas of the world, or what the pharmaceutical regulations on this type of drug might be."

With SUA's liberal arts approach, small class sizes, and 7:1 student-faculty ratio, students can not only pose these kinds of interdisciplinary questions, but access a wide variety of experts who will guide them in finding the answers.

"Soka offers a truly holistic and supportive learning environment," said Aarohee Bhattarai '23, an LS alumna from Kathmandu, Nepal, who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in pharmacology and physiology at Drexel University. "The interdisciplinary approach will not only prepare you to be a strong scientist, but also a thoughtful and ethical one."

Shaping Scientists with Career-Ready Knowledge and Skills

Thanks to the broad knowledge and adaptable skills sets that students develop in LS, graduates are not only prepared for the academic rigor of graduate programs in the sciences or health professions programs; they are also qualified to enter the workforce as laboratory technicians in fields like biotechnology, bioinformatics, and pharmaceutical research.

A common misconception about the learning that takes place in LS -- often based on students' experiences in high school science classes -- is that students will need to memorize a lot of facts to succeed in the concentration. While initially students will need to familiarize themselves with scientific vocabulary, LS faculty stress that memorization is not the goal.

"Now more than ever, anybody can just Google a fact," said Levenson. "Studying life sciences is more about how you put knowledge together and analyze it."

Even in introductory-level courses, students are encouraged to engage in big-picture thinking and make connections between scientific concepts.

"The goal is to take a zoomed out view and understand the basic themes," said Associate Professor of Biology Marie Nydam, who teaches, among other courses, an introductory biology course called Organisms to Ecosystems. "For example, how does organismal biology relate to ecology and then to evolution?"

In addition to a solid basis of knowledge, LS students develop crucial research skills, including analyzing scientific literature to understand how and why a scientist came to certain conclusions. Students learn how to identify research gaps and then design and carry out their own experiments. They hone many laboratory skills, practicing different techniques and learning how to work with a variety of equipment.

Some of the most critical lab skills, however, are actually not technical. Modern-day scientific research is a collaborative endeavor, so LS students learn how to work in a group, communicate clearly, and solve problems together.

"Being a life sciences student taught me the importance of collaboration with people from diverse backgrounds," said Saron Tadesse '25, a recent graduate from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. "It instilled in me the value of patience and learning from my mistakes."

Beyond the classroom, students have the opportunity to apply to research assistantships with LS faculty and gain professional work experience in a lab. LS students' lab skills also make them strong candidates for summer internships at other institutions. For example, Akenkou interned at a vaccine research lab, where she found herself applying the knowledge and skills she had acquired in an SUA microbiology course.

LS students also get a lot of practice analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating the data they generate in an experiment, allowing them to reach sound conclusions, identify inconsistencies, and articulate how their findings are relevant to society. Scientific writing is an essential part of this skill set. In fact, in some project-based laboratory courses, students write a full scientific journal article.

"Some students may have the impression that they don't have to write if they're in science," Nydam said. "It's actually incredibly important to be able to communicate your science to other people. Some scientists say that if you don't communicate your work, then it's like it never happened, because the point is to share."

Students also hone presentation skills in class and sometimes have the opportunity to share their work at national conferences. For example, Tadesse and Akenkou performed original research as lab partners for a class project. With encouragement from faculty, they presented their work at the 2022 and 2023 American Society for Cell Biology conferences in Washington, D.C., and Boston. Akenkou and Arnav Pandey '25 of Kathmandu, Nepal, also presented at the 2023 American Chemical Society Conference in San Francisco. These kinds of experiences are extremely enriching for students, Afrasiabi said, because it exposes them to research happening at other institutions, helps them identify new areas of interest, and connects them with the broader scientific community.

In fostering all these skills, the LS concentration aims to empower students to see themselves as scientists. This was certainly the case for Pandey, who hadn't taken any biology classes in high school and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in biological sciences at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

"Everything I know about biology beyond middle school, I learned at SUA," he said. "The concentration's blend of rigorous coursework, hands-on research, and close mentorship with faculty made it possible for me not only to catch up, but thrive in the field … It's shaped the kind of scientist I want to become."

LS Senior Capstones: A Launchpad for Fulfilling Futures

During their final year at SUA, all students complete a senior capstone, an independent project in which they investigate a research question of their choice and produce a substantial academic treatment of that topic, thoroughly analyzing their findings. The capstone process often helps students develop expertise in topics they're passionate about, which can influence their graduate studies and career trajectory.

Capstone topics in LS can vary widely. Seniors have studied the impact of artificial sweeteners on the risk for diseases like type 2 diabetes; measured and analyzed the changes in population of invasive marine species in Southern California harbors; and examined whether science-themed board games can teach biology concepts.

For their capstones, lab partners Tadesse and Akenkou tested a potential new cancer drug that they had synthesized together in a chemistry class. Each of them covered a different part of the project in her capstone, with Akenkou studying the biochemical mechanisms and Tadesse examining the effects of the drug on cell biology. Akenkou is currently gaining work experience as a lab tech before applying to graduate programs, and Tadesse is pursuing a doctorate in cell and molecular biology at Tulane University.

Other capstones have integrated technology and computer science. Ninh Le '22 of Thahn Hoa City, Vietnam, assembled and annotated the genome of a carnivorous fish species and then compared its digestive genes to an herbivorous "cousin" species. Initially drawn to the fields of genomics and bioinformatics after taking Nydam's course on these subjects, Le enjoyed being able to incorporate his love of math into his biological research. He went on to work as a bioinformatician in an academic lab directly after graduation, and in 2023 he was first author on a journal article published in "Molecular Genetics and Genomics." He is now pursuing a Ph.D. in bioinformatics at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The intersection of marine biology, chemistry, and medicine has also proven a rich area of research for LS seniors. Tokyo native Rika Watanabe '25 did her senior capstone on the dynamics of reflectins, a type of protein found in cephalopods. She is currently earning a master's degree in public health at the Institute of Science Tokyo. Manal Atty '23 of Casablanca, Morocco, synthesized potentially medicinal compounds that are usually found in marine sponges. This experience helped her realize how chemistry can be "a creative and powerful tool for social good, especially in the context of healthcare and innovation." Atty went on to complete a master's degree in applied chemical sciences at UCLA and is now pursuing a doctorate in chemistry at the University of Virginia.

'We Want to Support You': Advice for Current and Potential LS Students

If you are considering concentrating in LS, faculty recommend taking a class within the concentration as soon as possible to experience its approach firsthand. Some introductory life sciences courses, such as Foundations of Chemistry (CHEM 150), Organisms to Ecosystems (BIO 150), and Integrated Biology and Chemistry (BIO 151/CHEM 151) can cover requirements in either LS or general education, so it will count toward your degree even if you ultimately decide LS is not for you.

At larger universities, introductory science courses often have a reputation of "weeding out" students who are not immediately successful at mastering the material. This could not be more different than the learning environment in the LS Concentration at Soka.

"We are not a school that wants to turn away any student interested in science," Nydam said. "We want to support you." She stressed that while the first year of science courses will be challenging, she wants students to feel confident enough to put in their best effort. Foundational LS courses are heavy in chemistry, which students may struggle with if they are primarily interested in biology. After completing these requirements, however, they'll have the freedom to choose from many more courses in areas that interest them.

For LS concentrators, the best advice on how to excel is to talk to your professors early and often during your time at SUA. Professors and alumni encourage current students to go to office hours and seek academic advising from LS faculty in their first semester at Soka.

Pandey stressed that professors are "your greatest resource," whether you're stuck on difficult course material or you're wondering where to apply for a summer internship. "Their guidance has been invaluable," he said. "My professors provided me with research opportunities, introduced me to their colleagues for other work experiences, wrote recommendation letters for summer and graduate programs, and even helped me refine my broader life goals."

LS alumni and professors also highly recommend studying with your classmates, attending tutoring sessions, and learning study skills from LS students who have already completed the courses you're taking.

"Don't try to tackle it alone," said Levenson. "Work together with other people. Get mentorship and assistance. There is a network to support you."

Faculty and alumni also encourage LS students to keep an open mind about what fields of science they may be interested in.

"There are so many areas within the life sciences that you can go into, many that you probably don't know exist," said Riley Grosso '22 of Garden Grove, California, who is now earning an M.S. in management of drug development and a Ph.D. in clinical and experimental therapeutics at the University of Southern California. "Try out different projects and try your hand at different fields. It often isn't the exact subject of your research that matters, but instead that you are getting experience developing critical thinking skills."

Finally, professors and alumni alike think LS students should take full advantage of the multidisciplinary education they receive at SUA. They encourage LS concentrators to make connections between what they're learning in LS and the concepts they cover in nonscience courses. This practice will not only expand students' perspectives, but better prepare them to use their scientific training to make a positive impact on the world.

"If you're passionate about science and interested in how it connects to broader human questions," Bhattarai said, "the LS Concentration is the perfect place to grow."