By Justin Collier, ninth grade
Special to The Tribune by students of FCCS
TRUSSVILLE – Dr. Mathew Lynn Brown has devoted his life to learning and teaching science. He has always loved science, especially biology. In 1984, when he was only 16, he ran an animal research farm owned by Southern Biotechnology Research.
Brown’s love for biology and helping others flourished while earning a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Birmingham Southern College. While he was there, he conducted research on cancerous tumors. Eventually, he earned a PhD and a Doctoral in biology from UAB. Brown and his identical twin, Richard, who also holds a PhD, were the first people in their family to go to college.
While in graduate school, Brown helped NASA create the water filtration system for the I.S.S. After college, he discovered a cholesterol receptor involved in heart disease.
When Brown and his wife, Catherine, began having children, they decided to homeschool. Now, he’s a prominent and well-loved homeschool science teacher.
On weekdays, Brown teaches at three homeschool groups in the Trussville area. He also tutors on weekends, and occasionally,he’s called to teach at universities, including UAB.
“Brown is great,” Cainan Dehut, one of his high school Chemistry students, said. “He is good at getting the material down to our level.”
When his only son became old enough, he joined the Boy Scouts. Brown got involved too, and is now Trussville’s Scout Master. His daughters also got him involved in Venturing, a co-ed Scouts program. He joins them on all of their hiking trips.
Brown now resides in Trussville with his wife, five kids (ages six to 22), and a variety of fascinating pets, which he uses as teaching aids. While Brown has never lived farther than 50 miles from his hometown of Leeds, he has traveled the world.
“You only hear about the Nobel Prize winners,” Brown said of scientists. “You only hear about the famous ones, the ones that get that level of notoriety or recognition, but it’s a collective effort.”