MESSAGE FROM DEAN ALLISON S. DANELL
Hello from Harriot College! Thank you for spending some time to reconnect with us via this newsletter. Here in Pirate Nation™, we are busy engaging in activities that support ECU’s 2023-2028 Strategic Plan: Future-focused. Innovation-driven. Across several strategies, our college strongly aligns with the university mission priorities of Student Success, Public Service and Regional Transformation, and vision priorities of Social and Economic Mobility, Workforce Success and Rural Health and Well-Being. A recurring theme is access and when we take actions that improve access, whether it be access to knowledge, experiences or advancement, our students and employees reap many rewards. This work helps us expand our positive impact on the region by welcoming new learners to ECU, like the many working adults able to access degree programs online (https://onlineprograms.ecu.edu). These tried-and-true majors at ECU, like Psychology and Criminal Justice, are now available in a flexible, fast-paced online setting for anyone ready to learn…yet another way we are making a major difference here in Harriot College at ECU!
In this issue, we feature several compelling profiles of people who make Harriot College special. You may particularly enjoy learning how physics research can transform the face of medicine or about the critical role communication plays in community-focused policing. I am especially proud of how well Harriot College performed in the 2024 Pirate Nation Gives campaign. This is, of course, squarely because of friends and supporters like you! You are one of the biggest reasons that #HarriotCollegeWorks!
Jason Sugg, Chief of ECU Police
Doctoral student in Rhetoric, Writing, and Professional Communication
“The most enjoyable academic experience I have had at ECU is the support I experience from fellow students, staff and faculty, especially in Foreign Languages and Literatures and the Department of English. They have always been welcoming environments.”
Provides daily leadership as ECU’s Chief of Police
Has worked at ECU for more than 25 years and cares about the university’s mission and its community
Applies his doctoral work to his professional career by developing perspectives and providing insight into how law enforcement and communication overlap both culturally and rhetorically – plans to continue the conversation
Shares his expertise with students and the general public by co-sponsoring the ECU Student Safety Committee, serving on ECU’s Master of Public Administration Advisory Committee, and maintaining memberships in local, state and national professional organizations
Dr. Adriana Heimann-Rios
Associate Professor, Department of Geological Sciences
“I appreciate Dean Danell’s leadership and for providing funds to initiate new research. I also appreciate Harriot College and the Women and Gender Office for providing opportunities in leadership training for women, and faculty and staff from groups underrepresented in higher education.”
Expert in the chemistry of minerals and rocks, early marine environments, and the evolution of our planet explained through magma and crust formation
Imparts students with the knowledge needed to become licensed professional geologists
Leads a multi-institutional team on a $7.5 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to help community partners tackle issues that affect agriculture, drinking water, air quality, Serves the scientific community as creator and organizer of the Department of Geological Sciences’ Student Research Symposium and as past president of the eastern NC chapter of Graduate Women in Science
PHYSICS IN MEDICAL RESEARCH
ECU
students and faculty work to explain blood clot formation and disease
by Lacey L. Gray, MA
New funding from the National Institutes of Health will allow East Carolina University’s Dr. Nathan Hudson to continue leading research to better understand how blood clots form, what impacts degradation of clots and new ways to attack them to help improve the diagnosis and treatment of disease. He also is developing new materials that can aid medical professionals in surgery and wound healing procedures.
Hudson is an associate professor in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Department of Physics and studies the exciting field of molecular biophysics and biomedical physics. Science and medicine work hand-in-hand in these fields, and specialists examine biological samples and living systems through a quantitative, physical science-inspired lens to better understand biomedical processes.
Many of Hudson’s research projects have received federal grant funding to help solve fundamental questions about the formation and degradation of blood clots, which may lead to the development of innovative compounds capable of treating disease.
His newest project is funded by a $450,000 NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute grant. Collaborators include ECU students; Dr. Martin Guthold, a professor of physics at Wake Forest University; and Dr. Brittany Bannish Laverty, a professor and mathematician at the University of Central Oklahoma.
“I like the versatility of it,” he said.
“Many diseases affect how a blood clot behaves, or if it even forms in the first place. So, learning about how it forms will give insight into its behavior. If we know how something behaves, then we can fix it.”
Elangovan said he is gaining beneficial lab experience and some computer programming skills, which will assist him in his future medical physicist career.
Hudson said that understanding how blood clots form has implications for human health.
“Pathologies such as strokes and heart attacks often occur because blood clots aren’t digested properly,” he said. “We intend to connect the process of blood clot formation with the process of digestion.”
Another important aspect of Hudson’s research is student training.
“Dr. Hudson is truly one of the best research advisors.”
– Aravind Elangovan, doctoral student in biomedical physics
“For decades people have studied the structures of fully formed blood clots, and we now know there are strong connections between blood clot structures and a person’s health,” Hudson said. “However, blood clots form so quickly that we have large gaps in our understanding of what regulates the final clot structure and how this is altered in diseases.”
To help answer these questions, integrated biomedical physics doctoral student Aravind Elangovan and undergraduate physics major Dylan Miller are working with Hudson using a new microscopy technique, known as light sheet microscopy, that can capture movies of blood clots while they are forming.
This method illuminates a thin portion of a sample, as opposed to the entire sample. Therefore, the sample is less damaged by the light and can be used for a longer time, while the researcher collects data much quicker.
“Research is exciting because you are in the frontier of your field. The distant future of this research is tangible,” Elangovan said.
“Students develop skill sets in physics, biochemistry, mathematics, computer science, engineering and medicine,” he said. “Such an interdisciplinary skill set is invaluable in the competitive job market and sets students up for success in the future.”
Undergraduate students Victoria Gonzalez Mundarain, a biology and biochemistry major, and Maria Gonzalez Mundarain, a biology major, are leading investigators on another of Hudson’s NIH-funded NHLBI grants. They are working on developing molecular structures of blood clotting proteins in solution, and they have demonstrated the blood clotting protein fibrinogen is much more flexible than was previously believed. The long-term goals of this project are to develop molecular structures that reveal the early stages of the blood clotting process and discover new targets for drug design.
Dr. Nathan Hudson explores the exciting fields of molecular biophysics and biomedical physics. (Contributed photos)
Biomedical physics doctoral student Aravind Elangovan prepares a blood clot for imaging with an electron microscope.
and biochemistry major Victoria Gonzalez Mundarain is using electron microscopy
CHALLENGE RAISES
$50,000 FOR VOYAGES OF
DISCOVERY
Harriot College Advancement Council Inspires Record-Breaking Support
During Pirate Nation Gives, ECU’s annual day of giving, the Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Advancement Council unveiled a new challenge to support Voyages of Discovery, the college’s annual, signature event series that brings timely, thoughtprovoking and impactful leaders to speak directly to our community. In the 2023-24 season, the series featured actor and director Sean Astin and Olympian Laurie Hernandez, drawing in nearly 1,300 attendees ranging from enthusiastic students to faculty, staff and community.
With the help of generous gifts by lead donors Harvey Wooten, Meredith Hinton, Charles Saunders, Carlos Ochoa, Wayne Holloman, Sherry Holloman and Matthew Slate, the Harriot College Advancement Council offered a $40,000 challenge gift if 40 people supported the Voyages of Discovery Lecture series fund on Pirate Nation Gives. The fund raised more than $50,000 from 51 supporters, making it the most impactful single day of support for the Voyages series in its 17-year history.
“Simply put, our donors and supporters empower the Voyages of Discovery series to bring incredible people to eastern North Carolina. Many people don’t realize that the series relies on this vital support to provide free or reduced-price admission, transforming the region and making the arts and sciences accessible to all. Thanks to the creativity and dedication of the Harriot College Advancement Council, their challenge inspired truly remarkable community investment in the series during Pirate Nation Gives, and we are so grateful,” said Ashley Harzog, Harriot College’s director of alumni relations and outreach.
The 2024-2025 season of Voyages of Discovery will feature two notable and trailblazing speakers, one in the fall and one in the spring. We can’t wait to share what’s coming! Save the date for ticket sales beginning on or around September 3.
HONORING EXCELLENCE
Harriot College Names 2024 Dean’s Early Career Awardees
This spring, Dean Allison Danell named three faculty members as recipients of the prestigious 2024 Harriot College Dean’s Early Career Award. Established in 2015 through the generosity of the Dean’s Advancement Council, the award recognizes and rewards exceptional performance by tenure-track assistant professors.
This year’s recipients are Dr. Rachel Gittman, assistant professor of biology; Dr. Sara Bryson, assistant professor of criminal justice and criminology; and Dr. Hanna Kassab, assistant professor of political science.
Gittman began working at ECU in 2018 as a joint hire with the Coastal Studies Institute, which has allowed her to conduct interdisciplinary research and teaching as a marine conservation ecologist.
“While recognition is never the motivating factor, I am grateful to Dean Danell for her recognition of my work and my commitment to research, teaching and service,” she said.
“I am honored to receive this award and truly appreciate the support I have received from the Department of Biology, Coastal Studies Institute and Harriot College,” she said. “I love working with my faculty colleagues, staff and students on highly collaborative and interdisciplinary research projects. By working with individuals across career stages and disciplines, I believe that we can better address the complex and pressing challenges facing coastal ecosystems and communities.”
Bryson, who came to ECU in 2020, researches juvenile delinquency, juvenile justice and decision-making, bullying behavior, school victimization, and race and ethnicity.
“Dr. Bryson is an exemplary junior faculty member and a role model for new faculty on the tenure track,” said Dr. Heidi Bonner, chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology.
Kassab began working at ECU in 2018 and is the faculty advisor for the security studies club. His research interests include international security, terrorism, weak states and systemic war.
“Dr. Kassab is off to a great start in his career here at ECU,” said Dr. Alethia Cook, chair of the Department of Political Science. “There is no indication that he has any intention of slowing down.”
Drs. Heidi Bonner, David Chalcraft, Alethia Cook and Dean Danell celebrate with the 2024 DECA recipients Drs. Hanna Kassab, Rachel Gittman and Sara Bryson. (Contributed photo)
Enthusiastic ECU students cheer as actor and director Sean Astin is introduced at the fall 2023 Voyages event. (Photo by ECU photographer Steven Mantilla)
1002 Bate Building
Mail Stop 511
East Carolina University® Greenville, NC 27858-4353
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Valerie Robbins Nobles, RPA, MA in Anthropology, ’14
Valerie Nobles’s degree in anthropology provided the skills to further her education and set her up for a lifetime of success in a career in archaeology.
Since graduating from ECU, Nobles became a Registered Professional Archaeologist (RPA) and has earned a graduate certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
To become an RPA, a member must hold an advanced degree in archaeology, anthropology, classics or another discipline with a specialization in archaeology from an accredited institution, provide evidence of archaeological experience, and accept and agree to abide by the organization’s Code of Conduct, Standards of Research Performance and Grievance Procedures. The RPA is a beneficial title, not only because members adhere to and are held accountable to a set of high ethical
standards, which sets them apart from others interested in the field, but they also become a resource to individuals who seek professional archaeology services.
Nobles works as Principal Investigator and Archaeologist for Stantec, an international archaeological consulting company. She is based out of their Raleigh office and works with clients in the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic states.
“I like that I can connect with regions outside of the East Coast, and I have been able to work on a variety of projects in many different states,” she said.
ECU exposed Nobles to many situations and people that contributed to her successful career. Under the direction of Dr. Charles Ewen, Harriot College’s Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and director of the Phelps Archaeology Laboratory, Nobles led the 2011 archaeology field school performing excavations at Fort Macon State Park in Carteret County. She also assisted with ground penetrating radar work at a nearby cemetery and excavations at two unanticipated cemetery discoveries.
“I felt knowledgeable and prepared for several career avenues after graduation,” Nobles said.
For Nobles, that career path has included advanced study in GIS, which can be a valuable tool for recording, analyzing and visualizing archaeological information.
“I enjoy using mapping approaches and technology in all areas of research and fieldwork,” she said. “I love the idea of bringing technology together to make research, fieldwork and the lives of archaeologists easier.”
While working for Santec, Nobles has supervised field personnel and performed background research, field data collection, artifact analysis and categorization, and written technical reports.
“East Carolina University consistently ranks among the top graduate programs in the county producing qualified archaeologists,” said Ewen. “Our graduate student alumni tell us it was the training and contacts we provided that enabled them to obtain great jobs!”