Written by Regina Ender
To Dr. Matthew Berezuk, the best part of teaching at APU is the freedom he has found. The associate professor in the Department of Biology and Chemistry has been empowered to pursue his interests in his courses, his research, and his faith. In the classroom and the laboratory, Dr. Berezuk is given the space to be innovative, invigorating him as an educator and scientist.
After graduating with his bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Valparaiso University, Berezuk briefly worked in product development for a biotechnology company. He then became a research associate at the University of Colorado and has spent the rest of his career teaching and doing academic research. He earned his Ph.D. in cellular, molecular, developmental biology and biophysics from Johns Hopkins University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Embryology. Dr. Berezuk then began his teaching career, working as a visiting assistant professor at Lincoln University before starting his job at APU.
Dr. Berezuk’s research focuses on the protein KAP3, a subunit of molecular motor kinesin-2. Though scientists are familiar with the functions of kinesin-2, there is not much known about how it performs many of its tasks, particularly the ways it identifies and associates with the cargoes it transports within cells. Ultimately, Dr. Berezuk’s research aims to understand how KAP3 mediates recognition and binding to molecules, which will explain the functions and malfunctions of the motor. He has conducted two studies on the subject, one completed in 2016 and published in Austin Biochemistry and another currently underway.
Since he became an educator, Dr. Berezuk has learned that while truth is singular, there are infinite paths to get there. This realization has taught him to be empathetic in his teaching, recognizing that students resonate with subject matter in different ways. When students come prepared for his classes, they are able to combine their prior understanding from biology, chemistry, and physics to approach the new material with more complexity. Ultimately, Dr. Berezuk hopes to equip his students with skills they need to solve problems on their own. His students will be prepared for countless different careers after earning their degree, he said, because the common thread between biochemistry students is their endless commitment to learning.
Words of Wisdom: “Becoming very good at what you do implies that you are constantly incorporating new findings, concepts and technology into your vocation. You must embrace the challenge of this as an opportunity and not an obligation or else you will never be effective or fulfilled.”
