Where Science, Faith, And Recovery Meet
At Hope House, a sober-living community in Marion, Indiana, home to IWU’s main campus, Runyan and his students explore what supports lasting transformation through real-time behavioral research and supportive relationships rooted in Christ’s call to love and restore those in need.
Runyan’s interest in the brain began in high school biology. The more he learned, the more he recognized how much remained unknown. That curiosity shaped a career centered on mentoring, research, and service. Today, his work at IWU reflects both scientific investigation and a commitment to participate in the renewing work of Christ in human lives.
Studying Real Life in Real Time
A major turning point in Runyan’s work came in 2012, when he and the chair of IWU’s Division of Behavioral Sciences, Tim Steenbergh, Ph.D., co-developed LifeData, a research platform designed to capture human behavior as it unfolds in daily life. Participants interact with studies through RealLife Exp, a mobile app that delivers brief prompts in real time. Traditional psychological studies often rely on retrospective surveys that depend on imperfect memory, so Runyan sought a more accurate way to collect lived experience.
Experience sampling and ecological momentary assessment provided a solution. Through brief smartphone prompts such as “How stressed are you right now?” or “Who are you with, and how supported do you feel?” researchers gather real-time emotional and social data using the RealLife Exp mobile app within the LifeData platform. Since its launch, LifeData has been used by hundreds of researchers on five continents to study topics ranging from medication effects to patterns of joy.
Runyan’s early research focused on virtues and well-being, but he increasingly wanted to move from studying growth to helping it happen. That desire led him to partner with Hope House.
A Community of Transformation
Runyan’s search for communities where genuine transformation occurs brought him to Hope House. “It wasn’t just about sobriety,” he said. “It was about giving oneself to a new community and way of life.”
His research there examines resilience and personal development in addiction recovery. Using prompts delivered through LifeData’s “RealLife Exp” mobile app, along with daily interactions with student researchers, residents provide data about their emotions, stress, and relationships. Findings consistently show that individuals who report even one meaningful interaction in the past hour experience lower stress and reduced impulsivity. Feeling cared for by peers correlates with improved self-control and greater resilience.
Because stress is a major trigger for relapse, these patterns underscore the importance of community support. Experience sampling also helps residents visualize progress. “When you can look at a graph of your own emotions and behaviors, it makes the journey feel less overwhelming,” Runyan said.
Students Learning Through Service
IWU students play an essential role in the project. They help design questions, collect data, and build relationships with residents. Many describe the experience as one of the most meaningful parts of their education.
Student researcher Jeremy Azofeifa said, “Working with Hope House has been an eye-opening experience. I have met amazing people who have shown me how strong individuals can be and how much we can overcome. My relationship with God has grown through attending the weekly devotionals they hold.”
For Runyan, this growth is the purpose of the work. “It is one thing to read about psychology,” he said. “It is another thing entirely to sit with someone in recovery and hear their story.”
Science And Faith in Dialogue
Runyan views neuroscience and Christian faith as complementary ways of understanding the human person as God created them. His work at Hope House integrates scientific insight with practices shaped by Christ’s example of compassion, community, and transformation. Recovery there involves more than sobriety. It includes restored relationships, renewed purpose, and growth toward the life Christ calls people to live.
“Addiction recovery is not just about willpower,” Runyan said. “It is about discovering a way of life aligned with who we were created to be.”
A Continuing Journey
Runyan’s path from early curiosity about neuroscience to community-based research has been unexpected but meaningful. “If you had told me in graduate school that I would end up doing research with an addiction recovery community, I wouldn’t have believed you,” he said. “But looking back, it reflects how Christ often leads us into places where healing and learning meet.”
Through science, faith, and compassion, Runyan and his students are helping others find resilience and renewed life. “We are all in a process of becoming,” he said. “The question is how we participate in what Christ is already doing before we show up.”
