Cedarville Magazine
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rescued me. It happened at a youth retreat
when I heard the Gospel presented through
the creation story. I heard that man was
created in God’s image, and how man’s
sin destroyed that image. But Christ came
to restore the relationship through His
blood offered as a sacrifice on the cross.
These words resonated profoundly within
my soul. On that day, as I confessed my
sins and fears, He welcomed me into His
family. It was such a joy to embrace my
new identity as a child of God and let go of
my past identity as an untouchable sinner.
Plans for a Future
After completing my master’s degree
in pharmacology, I began teaching at a
pharmacy school in India. During this
time, I was challenged to integrate my faith
into my profession for the first time. As
part of my responsibilities at the school, I
worked with laboratory animals, including rats, mice, and rabbits,
which were confiscated by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals
(PETA). I began to question the origin of ethical values and their
implications to science and research.This incident ledme to explore
the field of bioethics, especially from a biblical perspective. There
wasn’t a bioethics program in India, so I applied and was accepted
into a bioethics program at Loma Linda University in California.
After completing the bioethics program, I began doctoral studies
in pharmacology.
While studying in California, God used different faculty
and staff members from my graduate school and local church
to teach me how to worship the Lord with both heart and mind.
I was greatly influenced by the godly character of my mentors,
Dr. Ev Bruckner and Mr. Clell Rogers. Even in my research,
which focused on understanding the contractile function of blood
vessels, I began to see God’s handiwork through the complexity
of intracellular communication. I began to feel the same sense of
wonder that David wrote about in Psalm 139:14—we are fearfully
and wonderfully made!
As I came close to completing my research, God used two
publications —
Two Tasks
by Charles Malik and
Redemption of
Reason
by Dallas Willard — to call me to teach at a Christian
institution. These publications ignited a passion in my heart to
be a part of God’s redemptive work in academia. I asked the Lord
to lead my career so I could faithfully proclaim Christ, “in whom
are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3).
But God did not answer my prayer right away, as the University
of Toledo College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
offered me a faculty position. I moved from California to Ohio to
begin my teaching career. I began attending Emmanuel Baptist
Church in Toledo, and was introduced to Cedarville University by
the college pastor there, Paul Mathieson. The next academic year, I
accepted a faculty position in Cedarville’s newly launched School
of Pharmacy and became one of its founding faculty members.
I was able to take part in the initial planning and development
of research labs for the School, and was very excited to become a
fellow for Cedarville’s Center for Bioethics.
As I reflect back, I am amazed at how God has taken the
challenges and uncertainties in my life and shaped them into
valuable experiences. Ultimately, these experiences prepared me
for my work at Cedarville. Together with my wife, Bethany, I am
looking forward to investing in the lives of my students. I am
passionate about Cedarville’s mission and vision, as it affirms
God’s calling in my life. I am eager to see the Lord do great things
through Cedarville University in the coming years, as it continues
to stand for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Elisha Injeti
is the Director of Research and Development in Cedarville
University’s School of Pharmacy and serves as a fellow for Cedarville’s
Center for Bioethics. He received his Ph.D. in pharmacology from
Loma Linda University. He has served at Cedarville since 2009. You
may contact him at
Ratnamma’s daughter, Elizabeth, and her husband, Vasanta Rao, are
pictured in the village of Visakhapatnamwhere they raised their son, Elisha.
Elisha Injeti was one of the founding faculty
members in Cedarville’s School of Pharmacy.
