[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/faulkner-biochemistry-graduate-pursues-phd-in-chemistry-at-florida-state\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/faulkner-biochemistry-graduate-pursues-phd-in-chemistry-at-florida-state\/","headline":"Faulkner biochemistry graduate pursues PhD in Chemistry at Florida State","name":"Faulkner biochemistry graduate pursues PhD in Chemistry at Florida State","description":"l-r Peyton Osborn and Dr. Theodore Sabir. The chemistry department at Faulkner University is small yet making great strides. The program has graduated students in recent years who have gone on to secure admission in medical schools, veterinary schools, PhD…","datePublished":"2023-12-07","dateModified":"2023-12-07","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rburylo\/#Person","name":"Rebecca Burylo","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rburylo\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37a0c97fbd1eda89e38697defcaf0573?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37a0c97fbd1eda89e38697defcaf0573?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Faulkner University","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","width":480,"height":128}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/ChemLab_Apr2023_10-scaled.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/ChemLab_Apr2023_10-scaled.jpg","height":2275,"width":2560},"url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/faulkner-biochemistry-graduate-pursues-phd-in-chemistry-at-florida-state\/","about":["Alumni","Graduate","News","Undergraduate"],"wordCount":931,"articleBody":"l-r Peyton Osborn and Dr. Theodore Sabir.The chemistry department at Faulkner University is small yet making great strides. The program has graduated students in recent years who have gone on to secure admission in medical schools, veterinary schools, PhD programs and pharmacy schools about the country. The most recent of Faulkner\u2019s chemistry success is Peyton Osborn.\u00a0 Osborn, who graduated this May, is now entering Florida State University (FSU) to pursue his MS and PhD in chemistry. His program is fully funded and provides him with both tuition waivers and a living expense stipend to attend the sunshine state university\u2019s program.Osborn\u2019s academic journey on campus was a bit of an anomaly. He graduated with a double major in biochemistry, and English with minors in biology and Bible. These university major and minor areas to some are seemingly in opposition of one another, but Osborn sees them as compatible pairings. \u201cThere is balance between science, philosophy and faith,\u201d Osborn said. \u201cEnglish is a language of the medium of human experience. We use language to understand things, read and write. Chemistry and Biochemistry are sciences to understand the world at a mechanistic level. Math is the theoretical language of science to understand the world at a deeper level. But science would be impossible without a general language to conduct it in.\u201d\u201cAlthough they seem very different to faith, they are very complementary to each other. If you draw knowledge from just one source, you\u2019ll become rigid in your thinking, but if you can draw from two or more sources, you\u2019ll become more well-rounded,\u201d he added.The Faulkner chemistry education provides students with the opportunity to view the science and research through a \u201cfaith lens,\u201d says program director and professor of chemistry and biochemistry Dr. Theodore Sabir. Sabir teaches chemistry, biochemistry, mathematical, scientific and philosophical studies. He guides his students through pedagogy and dissertation advising and research.\u00a0Dr. Sabir says, \u201cI have enjoyed working with Peyton. He is a great student and I wish him the best in his future endeavors.\u201dPreparing students like Osborn to pursue such prestigious levels of graduate studies is a testament to the small, but excellent biochemistry degree at Faulkner that began in 2014 under Sabir. Since then, graduates from the program have been accepted at schools such as University of Florida, Rochester University New York, Tufts University New England, Auburn University and other US and Canadian Universities. Dr. Sabir said, \u201cto God be the glory.\u201d\u201cOur students are given a very rigorous curriculum in chemistry, biology, research and in their internship selections,\u201d Sabir said. \u201cWhen they apply to graduate programs they are well-prepared. The beautiful thing about our program being small in size is that it allows our students to have one-on-one attention with their professors, which is critical for learning and success.\u201dDuring his time at FSU, Osborn will choose his concentration from the six traditional branches of chemistry: biochemistry, physical chemistry, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, materials chemistry, and analytical chemistry. The coursework should take about five years to obtain his PhD and along the way, he will earn his Masters from the same program at the three-year mark. As a part of the graduate assistantship, Osborn will participate in rotations, work under professors, participate in research and help teach labs and undergraduate courses.While still undecided on his specialty, after looking at their offerings, Osborn is interested in researching photochemical interactions, light, solar energy technology, gene editing and enzyme and protein chemistry as it relates to disease prevention.Although heading to FSU moves Osborn to Tallahassee, he will always view Faulkner as a home away from home.Peyton Osborn said he is very pleased with his Faulkner university education. He experienced love and loss, found lasting friendships and made unforgettable memories. He defended his honors thesis and graduated as a Great Books Honors student, sang in the Faulkner University Chorus and Faulkner Singers Chamber Choir, served as the spiritual director of the chorus, served on the Great Books Council, was a founding member of the student-led GraceNote show choir group and served on the editorial staff of Images in Ink.\u201cThose were some of my absolute favorite things here,\u201d Osborn said. \u201cThey made me love Faulkner and were large reasons why I kept coming back. I especially enjoyed my time in the chorus, on our chorus tours, and of course in Great Books.\u201d\u201cThe influential people and the friends I\u2019ve made here have been really good to me. The faculty have been so supportive.  Dr. Sabir, Dr. Cunningham, Dr. Clements, Dr. Art Williams, Dr. Fullman, Dr. Jacobs, Dr. Shirley, my advisors in English, and all the other faculty with whom I have been blessed to interact, everyone has helped me and been exceedingly kind and instructive,\u201d Osborn said. \u201cWith some of them, I\u2019d go into their offices to talk about life, faith, silly stories, classwork, or other random events of the day. And when I lost my dad unexpectedly in the fall of 2020 right around the time of the pandemic, many of them emailed me with encouraging messages and worked with me so that I wouldn\u2019t fall behind in my classes when I was struggling. The level of support I was shown and the relationships I have cultivated solidified my conviction that I made the right choice in choosing Faulkner. I\u2019m so glad and thankful I came here. This truly is a very special place, and I will remember this chapter of my life with bittersweet fondness as I move on to the next one.\u201d"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Faulkner biochemistry graduate pursues PhD in Chemistry at Florida State","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/faulkner-biochemistry-graduate-pursues-phd-in-chemistry-at-florida-state\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]