IRVING, Texas (March 31, 2023) — What makes science programs different at the University of Dallas?

For one UD biology professor, it’s the work ethic of the students and the faith of the institution.

Scientists from around the country gathered on campus last week for the MidSouth Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Society (MCBIOS), a conference led by UD’s own Inimary Toby, Ph.D., a professor in the Biology Department.

MCBIOS is devoted to the development of bioinformatics and computational biology. Unlike some other academic conferences, Toby’s organization has a practical bent. The conference presentations generally aimed at answering a question aligned with UD’s own goal of meaningful, virtuous education: How can knowledge help people?

Presenters shared a variety of answers. The various research tools that were discussed, some created by the presenters themselves, offer “new ways of assessing data points,” in Toby’s words — nimbler, faster and smarter ways to treat breast cancer, catch criminals or grow more crops, to name a few.

Contributors included both academic and professional scientists. Some speakers boasted positions or experience in major companies like McKesson, AstraZeneca and Amazon Web Services. Researchers came from the University of Birmingham, UT Southwestern (UTSW), the University of Pennsylvania, Emory University and the National Center for Toxicological Research, among other institutions.

UD sent a strong contingent of our own. Along with Toby, presenters included professors Saadia Bihmidine, Ph.D., Erick Chastain, Ph.D, Renita Murimi, Ph.D. and Prajay Patel, Ph.D.

UD students, whom Toby called “just phenomenal,” presented research alongside them.

“Our UD research students have gone literally toe to toe with students at other institutions — Baylor, UTSW — and they’ve fared well,” Toby said.

For Toby, it makes a difference that UD students do their own research for the projects they present, unlike other institutions that delegate the task of articulating the work to students who might not be familiar with the whole project.

“I think what makes our students really unique is that they are actually the ones doing the project. So, in other words, it’s not like they’re working with a grad student, and the professional scientist or the professor is nowhere to be seen,” Toby said.

“For some of the larger institutions, where they may not be the ones doing the work, the students are usually told, ‘Well, you do this piece and just tell us what you get.’ But for projects like what they’re doing in my lab, they're actually the ones that owned the project. So it’s really, really cool to see when they come up with the results because they’ve done all the work, they’ve stayed in the lab, maybe come in during the night to check on some instrument that’s running.”

Along with students’ command of the material, Toby noticed something else special about UD at the conference: faith. A faculty member that visited the conference sent Toby a note of appreciation for the hospitality and Christlikeness she saw.

“She says, ‘It is uplifting to see you and your students shining bright for God’s kingdom in this secular world,’” Toby relayed. “‘I’m so delighted to learn about the University of Dallas through this meeting. There are very few schools like this left in the world.’ … That was touching to me.”

About the University of Dallas

The University of Dallas is the premier Catholic liberal arts university in the country, nationally known for its undergraduate Core Curriculum. With campuses in Texas and Italy, UD is committed to the pursuit of wisdom, truth and virtue as the proper ends of education. For more information, visit udallas.edu.