Rooted in God’s truth
Dr Gina Mohammed is a research scientist and international science consultant in
plant physiology. Her specialties include non-traditional (non-timber) forest products,
botanical medicines, remote sensing of plant stress, and plant biotechnology. Gina
holds a Ph.D. in plant physiology from Canada’s Simon Fraser University, and
a B.Sc. in biology (Honours) from the University of Toronto. A scientist for over
25 years, she has led research programs in both government and private-sector institutions.
She has authored dozens of scientific publications, plus numerous technical articles
in popular magazines. Her work has been featured on Canadian TV, radio, and in newspapers.
Gina and her husband, Dan Pernokis,1
own a science and information technology consultancy2 based in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada.
An unlikely scientist
Gina and Dan have been married for 27 years. Dan is a computer programmer, and he
handles the information technology side of P&M Technologies. The couple also
own a small publishing company and a stained glass business.
Gina Mohammed wasn’t supposed to be a scientist—at least, according
to a teacher who gave her a lowly ‘D’ grade in her first biology class
at age 13. ‘Obviously, she will never be a biologist,’ he wrote on her
report card.
However, when Gina got to high school, a different science teacher with an infectious
enthusiasm made it all seem such fun. Her marks morphed into ‘A’s, paving
the way for this ‘unlikely biologist’ to end up doing exactly that for
a living—and loving it!
An unlikely Christian
If Gina was an unlikely scientist, she may have seemed an even less likely Christian.
Born into a Muslim family in Trinidad, she had no formal instruction in the truths
of Christianity. ‘But we had a few Christian neighbours and friends, and some
exposure to the Bible in school. So we heard of the name of Jesus Christ. And yes,
for us there really was something special about that name, even though we didn’t
fully know its Owner yet. A lady who babysat me taught my mother Psalm 91, then the 23rd Psalm. We respected Muslim
practices, but we always had an open ear to what the Christians were saying. My
mother says those Psalms gave her the faith and courage to emigrate with my father
and us four children to Canada. Over the years, one by one, our whole household
began attending church and “officially” became Christians.’
God’s light show in plants
‘Dan and I have always admired stained glass, so we took it up as a hobby
years ago,’ says Gina. ‘The hobby has become a business that we call
Rainbowcraft Stained Glass Art. I find glasswork very relaxing and inspiring!’
Dr Mohammed studies the physiology and uses of plants. She’s especially interested
in the interplay of light with plants. Gina is co-inventor of a seed viability test
that assesses whether seeds are alive or dead based on whether they ‘glow’
upon contact with a compound called fluorescein diacetate (FDA). ‘Live seeds
(or other plant tissues) metabolize FDA to release fluorescein which emits a bright
yellow-green fluorescence when viewed under ultraviolet or blue light,’ she
explains. ‘Nurseries producing seeds for reforestation or agriculture can
therefore test a small sample of a seed batch before they plant the whole lot and
possibly risk an expensive failure.’
Gina has studied a different sort of fluorescence called chlorophyll fluorescence.
The green colour of plants comes from the pigment chlorophyll, which produces a
ruby red light when sunlight hits it. But this light is too faint to be detected
by the naked eye, so scientists use filtered sensors to measure it. The fluorescence
signature can reveal whether the plant is healthy or stressed. Dr Mohammed has researched
this phenomenon for over two decades, helping other scientists and plant growers
to use it in their work. She is now involved in an international effort to evaluate
this tool for use from space satellites, to assess the health and vigour of large
areas of land vegetation on Earth. (It is already used to study algal physiology
in the oceans.)
Beliefs in action
Gina has used this device to measure plant fluorescence non-destructively in her
laboratory.
For Gina, science draws her closer to God through revealing His incredible creative
genius. ‘I think it’s a great privilege to be able to study His handiwork,’
she says. So how do Dr Mohammed’s beliefs influence her research?
‘My understanding of God informs the kinds of topics I address,’ she
explains. ‘For example, the Bible makes it clear that God is always purposeful
and not wasteful in His actions, so I expect His plants and their internal processes
to have useful purposes in their natural environments—and for people. Even
so-called “weeds” can be useful—many are sources of medicines
and other health products, and numerous patents have been developed from them.’
The fact that God’s purposefulness is so evident in His creation is totally
antithetic to the mindless wastefulness that defines evolution.
For the past 10 years, Dr Mohammed has been assembling a comprehensive database
of uses for about 1500 of Canada’s forest species, one of her goals being
to help individuals and families to launch small businesses in non-timber forest
products and services. ‘Plants are rich in potential because their Maker has
an infinite capacity for inventiveness. The fact that God’s purposefulness
is so evident in His creation is totally antithetic to the mindless wastefulness
that defines evolution. Death and waste are the results of man’s fall, not
instruments of development.’
Working among peers
Gina with one of her favourite conifer species, Douglas-fir. She grew these trees
from tiny seedlings.
Gina’s enviable publication record includes journal papers,3 book chapters,4
and popular magazine articles. Moreover, Dr Mohammed is a peer reviewer for science
journals in forestry and plant physiology. ‘When I review a paper, I like
to know the assumptions behind the study. But it’s surprising how many authors
do not state their assumptions, thus impeding their ability to think critically
about their work and its conclusions. For instance, many scientists have so internalized
the assumptions of evolution that they don’t realize these beliefs are actually
limiting the quality and impact of their research.’
Gina recalls making that mistake herself as an undergraduate student steeped in
evolutionary biology training. Studying plant nectaries (nectar-producing organs
in flowers), she compared their anatomy to that of the leaves, and finding similarities,
interpreted them as evidence that nectaries could have evolved from leaves. (She
received an excellent grade on the project.) ‘What I totally missed was the alternative
explanation: the similarity between the organs spoke of a common pattern adapted
for their individual functions—a pattern supplied by the Master Designer, God. Our
universities and schools should encourage students to explore various options for
interpretation if they truly wish to inspire critical thinking.’5
Evolution abandoned
So how and when did Gina abandon evolution—was it before or after she became
a Christian?
‘Evening Primrose’—a sample from Gina’s Northern Wildflowers
Collection, one of the stained glass series that she has designed.
‘It wasn’t until my 20s—years after I became a Christian—that
I fully abandoned evolutionary ideas. Through high school and my undergraduate years
at university, evolution more or less seemed reasonable to me as a working platform
to organize and order life. It made a rather tidy packet if you didn’t think
too deeply about its many shortcomings. But it was a concept that I eventually found
very easy to abandon for several reasons, e.g. it couldn’t begin to explain
the wonderful design of creation that is clearly evident in the many life forms
around us. For example, as a plant physiologist, I can say that the whole photosynthetic
apparatus in plants shouts ‘design’!6 Also, as I began to study the Bible more faithfully
and thoughtfully, I saw that evolution was totally incompatible with the Bible’s
central messages of the reality of sin, man’s consequent fall, and redemption
through Christ.’
We asked Gina if she’d struggled over the ‘age of the earth’ issue—i.e.,
at what point did she accept a 6,000-year-old universe? Did Dr Mohammed let go of
evolutionary ideas and millions-of-years notions at the same time?
‘I wouldn’t say I struggled with it, but I did have an open mind to
an old earth for as long as I tolerated evolutionary ideas in my own thinking. But
then I learned about the false assumptions underlying our current geological dating
methods. I also learned that long periods are not necessary for the production of
fossils and even fossil fuels. And I came to understand that even millions of years
cannot account for the sophistication of even the “simplest” living
cells. And as I studied the Bible more closely, I could see that millions-of-years
timescales just didn’t fit with what God has said.’
Planting ‘seeds’ for Christian growth
‘I think one of the best ways to honour God is to share our enthusiasm for
His creation,’ says Gina. She and her husband Dan work together in that regard.
They launched a children’s website which offers Christian devotionals inspired
by God’s creation.7
And they’ve also published inspirational books authored by Gina.8
Such ‘seeds’ can have enormous impact, says Gina. ‘Often we think
we can’t bring much to God’s work—but He can use the smallest
gesture, and the most “unlikely” people!’
Related articles
References and notes
- Mohammed is Gina’s maiden name, which she says she ‘retained
for professional reasons and the fact that my husband liked the name!’
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- P&M Technologies, <www.pmtech.ca>.
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- E.g., Mohammed, G.H., Binder, W.D. and Gillies, S.L.,
Chlorophyll fluorescence: a review of its practical forestry applications and
instrumentation, Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 10:383–410,
1995. (For a full listing of Gina’s 35 peer-reviewed journal papers to date,
see: <www.pmtech.ca/Gina/GM_JournalPapers.htm>.) She has over 130 publications
including textbook chapters, technical reports, magazine articles and books.
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- E.g., Mohammed, G.H., Zarco-Tejada, P. and Miller, J.R., Applications
of chlorophyll fluorescence in forestry and ecophysiology, chapter 3, in: J.R. DeEll
and P.M.A. Toivonen (Eds.) Practical Applications of Chlorophyll Fluorescence in
Plant Biology, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 79–124,
2003. Return to text.
- Evolutionary ideas that the incredibly intricate flower structures
we see today, complete with ovary (female) and pollen (male), exist because evolution
has modified leaves into ‘a shoot specialized for reproduction’ just
don’t stand up to scrutiny. See: Williams, A., Kingdom of the
plants defying evolution, Creation 24(1):46–48,
2001, <creation.com/plants>; Bergman, J., The evolution of plants:
a major problem for Darwinism, Journal of Creation 16(2):118–127,
2002, <creation.com/plants2>; and Holding, J.P., Not to
be used again : Homologous structures and the presumption of originality as a critical
value, Journal of Creation 21(1):13–14,
2007, <creation.com/homologous>. Return to text.
- See Sarfati, J.,
By Design: Evidence for nature’s Intelligent Designer: The God of the Bible,
Creation Book Publishers, Queens land, Australia, 2008, chapter 9:
‘Plant power’. Return to text.
- <www.SONbeamZ.com>. Return to text.
- Gina says her latest book, Miracles & Mustard Seeds—Little
Things You Can Do To Serve The Lord, ‘offers hundreds of ideas for Christian
ministry that take surprisingly very little time yet can be powerful in God’s
hands’, Candlenut Books, 2007, <www.candlenutbooks.com>.
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