Think Magazine - Winter 2018 by NC State Graduate School

W I N T E R 2018

Graduate School W I N TE R 2 018

Editor: Cynthia Adams Contributors: Cynthia Adams, Natalie Hampton, Mira Abed, Carla Davis, Tova N. Williams Designer: Julie Sanders Photographers: Becky Kirkland, Freeman Fotographics, Marc Hall, Roger Winstead 56,380 copies of this public document were printed at a cost of $.9974 per copy.

Table of Contents YANQI YE

A tiny patch offers a big diabetes benefit.

ASHLEY YOW

One tiny berry has gigantic implications.

TOVA N. WILLIAMS

Industry Immersion Programs.

CRISPR

KATELYN BRANDT

Love of science brought her to NC State.

JESSICA PHILLIPS

She found the hat that fits just right.

REJAUL HASAN

A fire ignites a big idea.

A discovery that rocked the world.

LATONYA GRAHAM

Ethical balance in public health.

MIRA ABED

A studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s views on CRISPR.

MICHAEL LLOYD

A family sauce was the secret to success.

READ THINK ONLINE AT GRAD.NCSU.EDU

ON THE COVER: Latonya Graham, a Walter H. Wilkinson Graduate Fellow. Photo by Becky Kirkland

A Message From the Dean

“NC STATE GRADUATE STUDENTS ARE DELVING INTO THE PRESSING ISSUES AND GRAND CHALLENGES FACING OUR SOCIETY.”

F R E E M A N F OTOG R A P H I C S

I am humbled

and honored to be chosen

Another important element in these advances is the role

as interim dean of the Graduate School. Not only is this office

that philanthropy plays in promoting the aspirations of the

staffed by an engaged, motivated, and professional staff, but it

next generation of researchers. Gifts play a significant role

represents the hub of NC State’s graduate education. To expose

in expanding graduate opportunities. Support in a research

the broader community to the impacts of this vitally important

area, such as that supplied by the Wilkinson Graduate Ethics

component of a research-intensive university, this current

Fellowship, or the Steve and Jane Warren/Wolfpack Club

edition of tHINK documents a sampling of the ground-breaking,

Graduate Fellowship that funds former varsity athletes entering

transformative research being undertaken by our graduate

master’s or doctoral studies, or academic and professional

students as well as the contributions that they and our graduate

development support from the Arthur B. Moss Graduate School

alumni are making in North Carolina and beyond.

International Travel Grant, elevates scholarship.

Whether developing new approaches to the ethical issues,

With the support of our alumni and friends, we can build

using new techniques to address health issues, or developing

on the excellence that exists and advance the discovery of

knowledge of food science to produce healthier products, NC

knowledge that will benefit North Carolina, the country,

State graduate students are delving into the pressing issues and

and beyond. 

grand challenges facing our society. This work does not happen in a vacuum, but is closely tied to the support provided by

PETER HARRIES

various university entities and, of course, the faculty that mentor these students and assist them in a variety of ways to push us beyond the frontiers of what we currently know.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

Yanqi Ye: A “Smart” Insulin Patch Detects Glucose Levels and May Aid Future Therapies

BECKY KIRKLAND



Yanqi Ye

A smart insulin patch, once translated for humans, could eliminate the need for constant blood testing and help diabetics maintain a more consistent level of blood glucose.

BY NATALIE HAMPTON

anqi Ye, a PhD student in biomedical engineering,

needles that could be conical or pyramid-shaped. The pancreatic

was home in China last year when her NC State

cells in the patch detect a person’s glucose levels, then

professor, Zhen Gu, asked if she could present a

administer insulin through the skin if required.

paper at a conference there. It became an “ahha” moment for Ye, helping her to see what a

difference her research project could have in the lives of diabetics. Ye talked about the research she has been working on in

“In a healthy body, pancreatic cells regulate the hormone insulin. Diabetics can’t produce enough insulin, so they have high glucose levels because of low insulin,” Ye said. Other technologies, like insulin pumps, require diabetics to

biomedical engineering: using a smart insulin patch to detect

monitor their own blood sugar levels. “It’s hard to control the

glucose levels and administer insulin in mice. Once translated

accurate insulin injection,” Ye said. “A higher or lower dose can

for humans, it could eliminate the need for constant blood

cause complications, like seizures, brain damage or death. If

testing and help diabetics maintain a more consistent level of

insulin gets too low, it can cause blindness or kidney failure.”

blood glucose. Though the project is still in animal trials, the idea

There is also a therapy for diabetics that involves transplanting

impressed one man at the conference so much that he invited

pancreatic cells into the body to help regulate insulin, but the

his diabetic father to come to the conference to meet Ye.

procedure is expensive and invasive for the patient. The patch

“His dad has very serious diabetes—late stage diabetes. He

allows for the same type of therapy—using pancreatic cells to

suffered a lot from leg pain, one of the diabetic complications. His

regulate insulin—but the pancreatic cells remain outside the

doctor forced him to inject the insulin, but he didn’t like that,” Ye said.

body in the smart patch.

The man’s father wanted to know when the smart insulin patch

Ye came to NC State originally as an undergraduate in a

might be ready for human use. Though human trials are still years

College of Textiles’ exchange program. Even then, she had

away, meeting a person who would actually benefit from her

an interest in biomedical fibers and medical devices. She had

research inspired Ye.

always wanted to visit the United States, urged on by her father,

The smart insulin patch that Ye is studying in mice combines the nanotechnology of tiny pyramid-shaped microneedles with

a businessman, who had traveled here. While finishing her undergraduate degree, she learned about

pancreatic cells that detect glucose levels. The needles in the

the biomedical engineering program, a joint program between

patch—each 800 micrometers long and thinner than a human

NC State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

hair—penetrate only the top layer of skin, making it painless. She

Students in the program attend classes at both universities—

carries a sample of the mouse patch in a petri dish; it is about the

there is even a shuttle that transports students between the two

size of a fingernail, with an array of needles, in rows 11 x 11.

campuses in Raleigh and Chapel Hill, about 30 miles apart.

A patch for human use would be larger—with 30 x 30 rows of

The program combines the strengths of NC State’s College

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

of Engineering with the human medicine programs at UNC. The resources from both campuses contribute to the strength of the biomedical engineering programs, Ye said. When Ye first approached Gu about joining his lab in 2013, the program consisted of four graduate students and two postdocs. “I showed him what I had been doing in textiles, then I volunteered in his lab for a semester. He thought I was ready (for graduate school),” she said. Today, Gu’s lab staff and research program have grown, DIABETES ON THE RISE

supporting six graduate students and five postdocs, Ye said.

The number of people with diabetes has

Though she’s been with the lab for about four years, Ye calls

nearly quadrupled since 1980. Prevalence

herself, “the grandmother” in the graduate program.

is increasing worldwide, particularly in

In fact, the research has been so successful, that Gu has co-

low- and middle-income countries. The

founded a Research Triangle Park company Zenomics Inc. aimed

causes are complex, but the rise is due

at commercializing the technology and making it available around

in part to increases in the number of

the world. Zenomics has received substantial investments from

people who are overweight, including an

the Chinese company MicroPort Scientific.

increase in obesity, and in a widespread

Ye’s achievements in graduate school extend beyond the lab. In December 2016, the Analytical Instrumentation Facility chose

lack of physical activity. Diabetes of all types can lead to

her paper, “Microneedles Integrated with Pancreatic Cells and

complications in many parts of the

Synthetic Glucose-Signal Amplifiers for Smart Insulin Delivery,”

body and increase the risk of dying

as one of two “best papers” for 2016. The paper was originally

prematurely. In 2012 diabetes was

published in Advanced Materials.

the direct cause of 1.5 million deaths

A year ago, she was one of five NC State graduate students

globally. A large proportion of diabetes

to receive conference awards from the Graduate Student

and its complications can be prevented

Association. Ye attended the 2016 AlChE Annual Meeting in

by a healthy diet, regular physical activity,

San Francisco. She also earned an honorable mention for a

maintaining a normal body weight and

research image she submitted to a scientific art competition of

avoiding tobacco use.

the Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network, a partnership

http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/diabetes/en/

between NC State, Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill. In addition to the smart insulin patch, Ye is working on a cancer immunotherapy patch using melanin against melanoma,

BECKY KIRKLAND

a skin tumor that is usually cancerous. The vaccination patch was applied to the skin of healthy mice. Even after tumor cells were introduced to the vaccinated mice, all the test mice survived for at least two months, and 87 percent did not develop any tumors. This work has been accepted for publication by the journal Science Immunology. The patch could also be used to deliver immunotherapeutic drugs

Ye tests the skin patch on a piece of pig skin. This is a preliminary step in efforts to test microneedles’ penetration in the skins of larger animals.

directly to the skin tumor, through microscopic needles that are conicalshaped, a therapy that appears to be effective in mice, Ye said. The cancer research is personal for Ye. Before she left China to come to NC State as an undergraduate, her grandmother was

BECKY KIRKLAND

hospitalized, and later died from late-stage metastatic cancer.

don’t have a chance to communicate with the patient,” Ye said.

“She suffered a lot,” Ye said. “It ignited my passion to study

“I really want to see one day that we can work with an industrial

biomedical engineering.”

company to put this into the market for the patient to actually

Ye’s mother, a high school teacher in China, always wanted Ye

use it.”

to become a doctor. Ye believes that her biomedical engineering

“One day” for Yanqi Ye could mean continuing her research

is fulfilling her mother’s desire for her to work in medicine—and

as a postdoc or in an industrial lab to translate the technology for

she’s proud of where her research is heading.

human medicine. And one day, maybe she will meet a patient

Clinical trials in humans for both of these technologies are still

whose life is changed through her research efforts. 

years away, Ye acknowledges. But meeting the diabetic man in China has strengthened her commitment to her research. “Of course, I hope to see the translation of this technology (to human medicine),” Ye said. “The most impressive memory for me is definitely the conversation between me and that diabetic patient. It really ignited my passion for translating that technology to really benefit the patient. “Right now, we’re just doing the research in the lab, and we

FOR FURTHER READING: https://www.northcarolina.edu/content/Skin-patch-dissolves-fat-couldhelp-treat-diabetes http://news.unchealthcare.org/news/2016/march/scientists-createpainless-patch-of-insulin-producing-beta-cells-to-control-diabetes (here is the news report for my insulin patch) https://news.ncsu.edu/2016/03/gu-immune-needle-2016/

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

Katelyn Brandt

Working with the Revolutionary Game-Changer Known as CRISPR Katelyn Brandt found herself excited and motivated when she encountered a middle school science teacher who didn’t hesitate to push her students. The power of a single teacher had remarkable effect, sparking a future in science for a young student. “Because I was not often challenged in school, the dedication of teachers like Ms. Pussey and my parents were instrumental in helping me recognize my passion and to start me on my path towards where I am today. I was one of the fortunate ones who had parents involved in my success and who encouraged me to never let the world dictate what my limits are,” she says.

BY C Y NTHIA ADAMS

NC State

undergraduate studies in biochemistry and molecular biology

Rodolphe Barrangou who conducts CRISPR research at

Graduate study was something she eventually planned on, but

NC State.

not immediately upon graduation. She had settled on another

doctoral student Katelyn Brandt works with a team led by

CRISPR involves a group of molecules which are capable of editing DNA. Vastly different from any other genetic editing attempted, CRISPR is a scientific superstar and scientists are clamoring to create or join labs like the one at State run by Barrangou. CRISPR, a naturally occurring system, is being co-

at Pennsylvania State University. At Penn State she studied the histidine utilization pathway in pseudomonas. Brandt told everyone she would go straight into industry.

plan: she would become a STEM scientist working in the Research Triangle Park. Brandt credits a Penn State professor for both igniting and redirecting that interest. “Boston, San Francisco and the Research Triangle Park are

opted as a genome editing tool, explains Brandt. Therein lies an

leading in innovation,” she says. “When I was doing research

enormous difference that has become the passionate focus of

at Penn State, Dr. Allen Phillips told me I should go to RTP if I

scientists here and around the world.

wanted to do work in genetics.”

Katelyn Brandt is a petite runner, volunteer, and scientific

Brandt was eager to jump into her career—in fact, she

researcher. She likes to work out and she loves reading. When

couldn’t wait. “I knew I would have to go to grad school at some

her schedule allows it, she would love to finish reading The Lord

point, but I intended to go into industry all the way through high

of the Rings. The fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, published in the

school and college. At the very end, I decided, no, I would go to

1950s, concerns a hero’s journey.

graduate school.”

Brandt is undertaking one of her own. The enthusiastic North Carolinian is a Pennsylvania-born transplant who joined Barrangou’s team after completing

Thanks to a family friend, Brandt was already aware of NC State and its reputation. NC State was in the sweet spot for scientific innovation: RTP.

BECKY KIRKLAND

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

7 9

ROG E R W I N ST E A D

NC STATE AND THE RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK (RTP) HAVE SYNERGISTIC PROXIMITY TO ONE ANOTHER.

The reputation of RTP and the interplay between emerging

The Research Triangle Park (RTP) is one of the most prominent

Brandt to doctoral studies at NC State.

high-tech research and development parks in the United States. It was created in 1959 by state and local governments, nearby universities, and local business interests. Karl Robbins bought the land where the park is now built. The park covers 7,000 acres situated in a pine forest with 22,500,000 square feet of built space. It is managed by the Research Triangle Foundation, a private non-profit organization.

technologies and high-profile researchers like her professor, Rodolphe Barrangou, played a central role in attracting Katelyn

Jennifer Doudna and Jill Banfield, who are pioneers in CRISPR research at different institutions, inspire a new generation of women scientists working in genetics.

“One of the biggest draws at NC State was the link between the campus and industry. Another huge draw was the relationship with RTP, and I picked the campus around that. The perfect events aligned.”

Research Triangle Park. The family friend helped guide where she would need to be to bring her dreams to fruition. When Brandt was just a 12-year-old middle schooler, she developed serious adult ambitions and a big crush. She fell hard

Brandt is excited by the fact that this close alliance of academia and industry means that her doctoral advisor, Barrangou, is deeply involved in both.

for science. Prior to that, Brandt was a good student and liked mathematics enough that she might otherwise have pursued it. She just was never quite as passionate about mathematics.

This synergy inspires members of her lab, especially given

“Before that, I hated science,” she stresses. “It was just

the reputation and draw of their mentor. Barrangou’s name is

basic. Boring. You didn’t even have to think. Then my seventh

often cited for his work with CRISPR.

grade teacher, Ms. Jennifer Pussey, made it really fun and

She mentions other scientists who were at the forefront of CRISPR, who have become involved with NC State. “The lab has collaborated with Jennifer Doudna,” Brandt says. “And, I met Jill Banfield when she was appearing at Duke.

challenging.” The teacher so inspired her that Brandt recently searched her mentor out on Facebook. “I wanted to tell her that I am where I am because of you.” Inside science, Brandt quickly found a track that absorbed her.

Two of our students are working on CRISPR patents.” She has

“Early in high school I knew I wanted to study genetics. I knew

already published a paper, and has another in review. Brandt, 25,

I had been gifted and blessed. I had intelligence and had to stop

intends to complete her doctoral work in 2019.

and apply myself, to stop and think…and genetics was most

Brandt says the energy in the lab is collegial, supportive, and inspires her. “It is where you see big ideas,” she adds. “We talk about the next big topic, and what is next. CRISPR

interesting to me. “ Part of Brandt’s interest in genetics was spurred by the personal. Given her mother’s work with special education

is so revolutionary, but what will be the next thing?” she asks.

students, she had particular cause to think about genetics.

“Rodolphe is identifying new directions and making this an

She also had some cousins who had learning disabilities. “I

innovative lab. I’m pretty sure I want to go into industry. Beyond

remember being excited about the genetics class. We were a

that, Rodolphe is great about encouraging my development.”

small rural town; I just made sure to take as many AP classes

Within the food sciences laboratory at NC State, Brandt

as I could. My parents knew I was interested in science.” She

investigates CRISPR-Cas systems in lactic acid bacteria using

majored in biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State.

approaches including functional genomics, bioinformatics, classical microbiology, molecular biology, and phylogenetics. This summer she attended the Graduate School’s Industry Immersion Program for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, the first offering of its type. The program further spurred her thinking.

And in another couple years, Brandt, a student in the functional genomics and genetics program, will complete her PhD. “Fingers crossed.” Essentially, the entire Brandt family migrated to the South. “My younger sister, Sarah, is here. She is majoring in Spanish, with minors in education and business administration.

“I came back from the Industry Immersion Program thinking

Our parents had been talking about retiring to NC, and my

that was one of the best things I got out of the program—finding

sister decided to give them a nudge. But we found NC State

a model for my career. Now Rodolphe and I are looking at ways

independently.”

to explore it.”

Her parents have settled down in the coastal community of Sunset Beach on the North Carolina coast.

A FAMILY MIGRATION, PROMPTED BY NC STATE

Within the family, only Brandt’s cousin studied biochemistry. “I love it; we are excited when we talk about it,” Brandt says.

In her deepest self, Brandt long understood that a life of science

“My sister chose Spanish because that’s her passion, but she

was to be her path. She has known what she wanted to do for

could easily have gone into STEM, so my parents use her as a

the last 13 years, she insists. She just didn’t necessarily know

interpreter whenever I discuss what I do in genetics, when I am

where until a mentor pointed her towards Raleigh and the

too technical.”

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

Brandt’s area is in the classification of lactic acid bacteria. “I finish one thing and add a new one; I’m at the crossroads of M A RC H A L L

looking at the CRISPR systems and probiotic potentiality. That, in a nutshell, is what I do.” She explains, “CRISPR in general is adaptive immunity for bacteria. For years we didn’t think that bacteria had memory. When it combats the virus it looks for a specific DNA sequence and cuts it. That’s why people take this tool and use it for genome editing.” (Remember, Jennifer Doudna is famous for that, she reminds.) “Now we can take it and put it into any cell, and tell it to cut

RODOLPHE BARRANGOU, a

anywhere in the genome. That is what CRISPR does. We can go

Todd R. Klaenhammer Distinguished

and knock out genes. If you have a bad gene, we can go get rid

Scholar in Probiotics Research at NC

of it. We can change or edit out a gene.”

State, works on beneficial microbes, focusing on the occurrence and diversity

WOMEN IN SCIENCE

of lactic acid bacteria in fermented foods and as probiotics. Using functional

It is worth noting that so much of the early work with CRISPR

genomics, he has focused on uncovering

was done by women. “Up until last December we were a

the genetic basis for health-promoting

lab of all women,” Brandt says. “And, Rodolphe is very big on

traits, including the ability to uptake and

supporting women and giving them opportunities.”

catabolize non-digestible carbohydrates.

AWIS, the Association for Women in Science, has encouraged

Barrangou spent nine years at Danisco-

mentorship and outreach with area high school students, she

DuPont, characterizing probiotics and

mentions. Perhaps Brandt recalls her impressionable younger

starter cultures, and established the

self, eager to become a scientist as a teen.

functional role of CRISPR-Cas, as

Meanwhile, Brandt has also involved herself with a

adaptive immune systems in bacteria. He

charitable cause, an annual Dance Marathon which raises

works toward establishing the molecular

funds for the Children’s Miracle Network and Duke Hospital.

basis for their mechanism of action, as

The Dance Marathon is something she became interested at in

well as developing and applying CRISPR-

Pennsylvania. “We ask all dancers to try and raise $100. It will be

based technologies for genotyping,

in the Talley ballroom February 24 of next year. It isn’t that tough.

building immunity and genome editing.

Roughly every hour we do a line dance that we make up each

Katelyn Brandt has been working in Barrangou’s lab. “Rodolphe is very big on supporting women and giving them opportunities,” she says.

year. A slogan one year was ’bad dancing saves lives’,” she laughs. As for the future of genetic applications and saving lives, is gene therapy feasible in her lifetime? Brandt answers slowly, offering one appealing possibility. “I think a lot of people want personalized medicine. Whether that will be feasible anytime soon, I don’t know.” Within The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien uses a repeating theme— that of nature and industry in conflict. In the case of CRISPR, nature and science could potentially also be in conflict. As for Brandt, she prefers to leave that to the ethicists. 

“One of the biggest draws at NC State was the link between the campus and industry, and the relationship with RTP. ”

BECKY KIRKLAND

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

What you should know about CRISPR A Scientific Revolution at the True Forefront of Science

“A small constellation of researchers aided in describing, isolating, and studying CRISPR decades before it was ever imagined as a gene-editing tool,” George Church says. He calls CRISPR ”kind of a community effort.” Within that community is the name Rodolphe Barrangou.

implications—and is very much on the minds of NC State’s very own geneticists and researchers. “Since gene technology first emerged over 40 years ago, we've seen a wealth of genetic advances—not least of all the decoding of the human genome in 2001,” writes ABC science writer Bernie Hobbs. “But that's nothing compared to the genetic revolution that we're at the beginning of right now, thanks to a technique adapted from bacteria called CRISPR.” As a breakthrough, it is a breathtakingly, fast-breaking one

BY C Y NTHIA ADAMS

that calls for informed deliberation. According to Mira Abed, a doctoral student at NC State in fiber and polymer science who had a fellowship through the

ou’ve seen headlines and possibly even heard

AAAS in mass media science, “When it comes to CRISPR, our

podcasts on the topic of genetic editing. If you

society has some important decisions to make.” She published

have not yet memorized the acronym CRISPR,

an article on genome concerns which appeared in the Los

you may want to start.

Angeles Times this past August. (See page 14.)

Short for “Clustered Regularly Interspaced

Abed’s article came on the heels of a CRISPR/Cas9

Short Palindromic Repeats” the term was coined in the early

development that month which enabled scientists to edit

days of CRISPR research. Thanks (or blame) for the term is due

“heritable cells in human embryos to treat an inherited form

to researchers Francisco Mojica and Ruud Jansen; now this

of heart disease. The day after the research was published (in

strange-sounding acronym is on the lips of scientists and lay

Nature), a group of genetics experts published a statement

people around the world.

calling for further debate before applications of the technology

But what is it? CRISPR is a naturally occurring gene editing system that is

are taken any further in humans.” If scientists and ethicists are trying to catch their break, it is

part of humans’ own biological defenses. It allows bacteria to

worth noting that CRISPR’s early days were not very long ago.

identify and destroy foreign DNA.

George Church, a Harvard geneticist, argues, too, that there

CRISPR is also a game-changer for geneticists, molecular engineers and biologists. Scientific breakthroughs made in

were a number of contributors. “A small constellation of researchers aided in describing,

CRISPR are vital to what we know of today as better, faster,

isolating, and studying CRISPR decades before it was ever

even cheaper, gene editing. And CRISPR is the tool that makes

imagined as a gene-editing tool,” Church says. He calls CRISPR

genetic engineering a changed reality. In 2015, CRISPR was

“kind of a community effort.”

hailed by the American Association for the Advancement of

Within that community is the name Rodolphe Barrangou.

Science as the “Breakthrough of the Year.”

In 2007, Barrangou (now an associate professor at NC State)

The excitement has not faded in 2017. CRISPR, or, CRISPR/ Cas9 is considered a breakthrough with enormous scientific

published a Science paper while he was a scientist at DuPont with Philippe Horvath on bacteria’s natural defense system. He

joined the faculty in 2013 and has been on the Thomson Reuters

observations about the role of CRISPR as it applied to bacteria’s

Highly Cited Researchers list in 2014 and 2015.

adaptive immunity.

Today, Barrangou is widely recognized among a field of

Also integral to understanding CRISPR is Cas9, a “delivery”

researchers who each did seminal work on CRISPR. He is also

tool used in the eA.Cas9, or, CRISPR associated protein 9, is

the co-founder, chief science officer and chairman of scientific

the RNA-guided enzyme identified as the means by which it is

advisers, Locus Biosciences. These are early days in Barrangou’s

possible to “cut” or edit, DNA.

research career; he is only 42. Academic researchers Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle

Last spring, Barrangou won the 2016 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize, which carried a cash award of $500,000.

Charpentier are credited for developing CRISPR as the tool for

The cash award was shared with four other recipients for their

cutting and editing DNA. They published their findings in 2012

contributions to understanding CRISPR.

in Science. Doudna (UC-Berkley) and Charpentier (Helmholtz

“His work has shown that CRISPR systems defend

Centre for Infection Research) began exploring ideas at a science

bacteria against unwanted invaders,” said NC State writer Mick

conference. Their discussion led to a joint research effort.

Kulakowski in a news story last year.

Viruses possessed the means to kill bacteria and yet bacteria

“Barrangou is mostly concerned with CRISPR-Cas systems

could fight back. How viruses successfully morphed and the

that use Cas9 proteins as scalpels to cleave away foreign DNA.

implications of that led to editing cells on a molecular level.

Possible applications include genome editing, antibacterial and

Yet another scientist, MIT researcher Feng Zhang, has since entered a successful patent battle challenging their rights to CRISPR, for his work implementing that tool in human cells.) The “constellation” of scientists contributing to CRISPR

antimicrobial production, food safety, food production and plant breeding.” Barrangou received the 2014 NC State Alumni Association Outstanding Research Award and the 2015 NC State Faculty

was at work in various corners of the world, most working

Scholars Award. He also was named as the Dr. John S. Risley

independently of one another, both in industry labs as well as

Entrepreneur of the Year in 2016.

academia. All of which makes for a confusing timeline in the “discovery” of CRISPR. However, in the effort to simplify how CRISPR research unfolded, researchers complain that important contributions are overlooked. As early as 1987, researchers Yoshizumi Ishino and Aniket Walia at Osaka University had identified the clustered repeats in DNA and even accidentally cloned them. Six years later, researchers in the Netherlands noticed the same sequences in tuberculosis strains and published their findings. Similarly, researchers working in Spain had also observed the repeating sequences occurring in other microbes. The various terms used to describe this were confusing; Mojica and his colleague, Jansen, proposed naming the syndrome CRISPR. The term stuck. By 2005, other research teams were making independent

The Take-Away CRISPR is not the only means of editing genes. There are others. But CRISPR is far cheaper and faster—potentially costing less than $50, and therefore accessible and widely adopted by researchers. Gene-editing kits are available online. According to researchers, the great promise of CRISPR is that it may provide a predictable means by which defective genes can be edited and repaired. CRISPR has already been used in other countries on human embryos to “edit out” genetic defects. China conducted a clinical cancer trial last year using CRISPR, and elsewhere it is being used to edit embryos. However, in the United States, researchers are asking that CRISPR not be used in human

Last spring, Barrangou won the 2016 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize, which carried a cash award of $500,000. The cash award was shared with four other recipients for their contributions to understanding CRISPR.

applications as yet until all the ethical concerns, and safety concerns, are resolved. CRISPR can also be used in plant and animal genetic editing. 

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

BECKY KIRKLAND

Mira Abed

Americans want a say in human genome editing, survey shows The new poll shows that two-thirds of Americans support therapeutic applications.

hen it comes to CRISPR, our society has some important decisions to make. Recently scientists reported a new first in the journal Nature: They edited heritable cells in human embryos to treat an inherited form of heart disease. The day after the research was published, a group of genetics experts published a statement calling for further debate before applications of the technology are taken any further in humans.

According to a new survey of 1,600 adults published in the journal Science, much of the American public shares this desire for

engagement in decision-making. Led by Dietram Scheufele, a professor of science communication at the University of WisconsinMadison, the study found that while support for gene editing applications varies, a majority of respondents think the public should be consulted before genome editing is used in humans. Gene editing presents the potential for remarkable benefits. “The potential to cure genetic disease and to ensure the safety of the world's food supply in the face of climate change areperhaps the most exciting opportunities,” said Jennifer Doudna, a chemist at UC Berkeley who was an early pioneer of the powerful gene-editing technique CRISPR-Cas9 and was not involved in the new study. But it also raises some serious ethical questions, especially when we turn our attention to tweaking the human genome, Scheufele said. Many people find some applications—like disease treatment—valuable, and others—like making your children more intelligent—morally shaky. For example, scientists may eventually develop a cure for what some people don’t consider an illness—like a disability, Scheufele said. Would those who chose not to undergo genetic therapy or who couldn’t afford it then be discriminated against even more as a result? These and other ethical concerns go beyond the bounds of science, Scheufele says, and his poll results show that the public wants to be involved in the debate.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

M A RC H A L L

Rodolphe Barrangou is the CRISPR lab’s lead scientist. The CRISPR lab is on Centennial Campus. Barrangou earned his doctorate at NC State in 2004. He then moved into the food science industry, where he worked on production of bacterial starter cultures, which entailed sequencing genomes. According to an article by Mick Kulikowski, those efforts led to observations published in 2007. “That paper showed CRISPR is indeed an adaptive immune system,” said Barrangou.

Because of the fast-moving progress of gene editing

When asked about enhancement applications, the high-

research and the vast potential for both beneficial applications

knowledge group was very polarized, with 41 percent in support

and negative consequences, many experts have called for

and a nearly equal amount in opposition. In contrast, half of low-

public engagement on the issue—including in a consensus

knowledge people reported that they neither support nor oppose

report released this year by the National Academy of Sciences

gene editing.

(NAS) and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). The new study strove to answer some questions emerging

Robert Blendon, who studies health policy at the Harvard School of Public Health, said that the polarization could be

from the National Academies report. First, how do people feel

there for a reason. Those who know more about the technology

about different applications of gene editing? And secondly, do

have probably learned about it because they have a vested

Americans agree that the public should be consulted on gene

interest—maybe a genetic disease runs in their family or they are

editing applications? Similar questions had been asked in previous

concerned with ethical consequences.

polls, but the authors wanted to get some more specific data. Human genome editing can be used for two broad purposes:

The more religious people were, the less likely they were to trust the scientific community to responsibly develop

therapy or enhancement. Therapeutic applications include the

new technologies. This trend was opposite when it came to

treatment of genetic disorders like muscular dystrophy or sickle

knowledge: The more knowledgeable people were about the

cell disease, while enhancement might be used to change your

technology, the more likely they were to trust the scientists.

daughter’s eye color or make her grow taller. Each of these changes can be heritable or not, depending on

While the two groups may have very different reasons, both highly religious and highly knowledgeable people agreed that the

which type of cell is tweaked. Somatic cells are nonreproductive,

public should be involved in decision-making before gene editing

so any changes to these cells will not be passed on to future

is used in humans.

generations. Germline cells, on the other hand, are heritable—

Blendon said that while it’s clear the public wants a say

therefore, any modifications will be inherited by the treated

in how gene editing is used, it’s unclear exactly what public

person’s children and grandchildren.

engagement looks like. The first way most people might think

The new poll shows that two-thirds of Americans support

of being consulted is through their elected officials, but other

therapeutic applications, whether to somatic (64 percent

surveys suggest that the public actually doesn’t think the

support) or germline (65 percent support) cells. When it comes

government should be making decisions about genome

to enhancement, however, there is much less approval. Only

technology.

39 percent of respondents find somatic enhancement acceptable,

Scheufele said that there is currently no infrastructure in

with 35 percent saying it is unacceptable. Levels of support

place for crucial two-way communication between scientists and

dropped even lower for heritable germline enhancement, to

the public on the genome editing issue—but it’s important to

26 percent in acceptance and 51percent in opposition.

develop it.

When these results were broken down by how religious

Diverse groups and perspectives have an important role

respondents were, some variation emerged. Religious people

to play in shaping the early stages of human genome editing

are less supportive of genome editing overall. Only half of them

research, Scheufele said. Scientists may not think to investigate

expressed some support of treatment applications, compared

all the questions that the public may deem vital.

with 75 percent of nonreligious respondents. When it comes to enhancement, 28 percent of religious respondents and 45 percent

“If we ask the wrong questions,” he said, “then we may have perfect technical answers to all the wrong questions.” 

of nonreligious people reported some level of support. The authors also ranked respondents in terms of low, medium and high knowledge by their score on a nine-question factual quiz. Those in the high-knowledge category were far more

Postscript: Mira Abed is a third year PhD student in fiber and polymer science at NC State. She is also working on a graduate certificate in public policy. She interned with the LA Times in summer 2017 as an American Association for the Advancement of Science Mass Media Fellow.

supportive of treatment applications, with 76 percent in support compared with only 32 percent of low-knowledge respondents.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

Ashley Yow

Ashley Yow Defies the Odds, Working to Create Disease-Resistant Cultivars BY C Y NTHIA ADAMS

Blueberries! Love ‘em or not, blueberries surely love us. From the first time a plucky someone popped a blueberry into their mouth, it was clear that the tiny berry possessed very big flavor. Beyond toothsome flavor, blueberry benefits keep unfolding. Research indicates that the antioxidant-rich berry not only supports visual health, but also helps maintain brain function. More than a decade ago, neuroscientist James Joseph first

Mummy berry is a common plight. “Resistant cultivars can save growers thousands of dollars each year, keep costs down for consumers, and reduce the environmental impact of farming,” says Yow. In order to identify genes that are differentially

called the blueberries a “brain berry.” Joseph said that nothing

expressed in response to the disease, she performed a gene

topped the blueberry for protection of the brain. Current studies

expression analysis, “comparing infected and uninfected tissues

indicate blueberries may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s or even

of a susceptible blueberry cultivar, ‘Arlen.’”

reverse it. Animal trials demonstrate an astonishing brain-

The blueberry researchers working on the RNA-sequencing

boosting ability. “It will be important to see what comes out

include Marc Cubeta, Kathleen Burchhardt, and Ashrafi. More

of human trials,” says Ashley Yow, a graduate student in Hamid

recently, Jeff Rollins of the University of Florida began working

Ashrafi‘s lab at NC State, who just completed her masters.

closely with the mummy berry disease project.

Ashley Yow is fascinated by the little blueberry, an important commodity with a projected 25 percent increase in production over the next four years. She placed second at the 2017 Graduate

“The validated genes will be used as candidate genes for further genetic mapping studies.”says Yow. Proving that researchers have a winning sense of humor, Yow

Student Research Symposium for RNA sequencing that identifies

says the two most common questions she fielded about her

genes resistant to mummy berry disease in blueberries.

research at the symposium tickled her funny bone.

Blueberries are vulnerable to both biotic, or living, and

“People asked if mummy berries are okay to eat,” she laughs

abiotic stress factors such as sunlight, water, and temperature.

good-naturedly. “And people asked me if I dyed my hair blue

Mummy berry disease is a fungal disease that causes the berry

because of blue berries.”

to be shriveled and pale. It is among the most widespread and

(For the record, Yow’s hair is no longer Willy Wonka/Veronica

damaging diseases affecting blueberries. Through genetic mapping

blue, eliminating that question. “I got tired of dyeing it,” she

studies and analytics, Yow is working with a team of NC State

says.) Now her hair is light brown.

researchers in horticultural science, bioinformatics, and plant pathology in order to one day breed more resistant blueberry

BIOINFORMATICS AND THE “BRAIN BERRY”

cultivars. According to Yow, “My work helps provide breeders with genomic information about this trait that they can use in order to

In 2014, Yow completed her undergraduate degree in plant biology

be able to breed them to be more resistant.”

at NC State. She accepted a job at the USDA/NC State soybean

BECKY KIRKLAND

improvement unit, joining Hamid’s research team in 2015 after

what he could teach me, and what the job prospects were. I

learning that Ashrafi was seeking a graduate student. A coworker

started in January of 2016 and now I’m writing my thesis.”

introduced her to Ashrafi for an interview and things clicked. “He seemed like a very nice person, and I was interested in blueberries. Who doesn’t like blueberries?” she asks. Soybeans

ONE DETERMINED GRANDFATHER AND A DEVOTED GRANDDAUGHTER: “YOU’RE GETTING AN EDUCATION!”

weren’t as rewarding. “They aren’t very tasty,” she jokes. “I love blueberries. But I was interested in biotechnology.

Yow did not come from a long line of scientists—in fact, she

That’s what I did for plant biology. And Hamid told me I would

is the first in her family to get a degree. She grew up in the

basically be doing Linux scripting—we use a Linux server to do

suburbs of Durham and loved to be outdoors and play with

a lot of our analyses. I would basically be learning bioinformatics

bugs. Her mother worked in insurance, and her father owned a

but working with blueberries.”

construction business.

Bioinformatics used in the context of plant pathology became the basis of her graduate work. “It was a match made in heaven! I was super excited to get

Her college years were fraught with illness. Yow’s father fell ill with lung cancer in 2011 while she was a teenager, and her mother battled a terminal illness a few years later. Yow helped

into grad school, and my professor was excited to get his first

care for her father, and moved out at 20 years old after her father’s

graduate student,” she says. “He explained what I could learn,

passing. Her younger sister, Erica, helped care for their mother.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

Yow watched television crime programs, fantasizing about

where she works. “That’s my Nana and Papa right there. He

becoming a forensic scientist. “Or maybe a forensic pathologist.”

worked so hard. He did everything for me, to give us a better life

But as her father died, Yow had little time left for dreams.

than he had.”

When her high school biology teacher went out on maternity

Yow lives in her grandparents’ house with her younger sister,

leave, Yow recalls how the unattended class played cards or slept

Erica, who is interested in eventually pursuing psychology or

to pass the time. Her biology grade suffered. “I barely made a C,”

criminology. “Staying in Nana and Papa’s house, taking care

she says. “We didn’t even have a substitute teacher. We didn’t

of the yard, and having neighbors are different than living in

learn anything. Kids were losing out on their education.” Her

my apartment where everybody was anonymous,” says Yow.

grades were lackluster.

Surrounded by memories of her family, the sisters are making

Yet one person wasn’t relenting: Yow’s grandfather insisted

the house their own.

that she enter college. “He said I was smart; he believed I was a smart person,” Yow

MISTRUSTS OF GMOS MAY BE MISPLACED

recalls. He enrolled his granddaughter online at Durham Technical Community College and sent her the confirmation paperwork.

Yow doesn’t have an abundance of free time, but keeps a

“My grandpa worked for IBM for nearly 50 years—and he

greenhouse and intends to do more indoor and outdoor

enrolled me in Durham Tech after I graduated high school— after

gardening. Her love of horticulture and plant pathology is

I nearly failed high school biology! My high school, Southern

deepening.

Durham High School, was very underfunded. I thought I hated

She discusses all the exhilarations, challenges and

biology when I was 18. He took me to take the placement test at

frustrations of her profession. Breeding is slow and difficult as

Durham Tech, because I never took the SAT.”

a process, but genetically modified organisms face problems of

Yow revered her grandfather and listened. “He told me, ‘I know you’re smart, and you’re getting an education.’” As a community college student, she began taking science

public misperception. “I know there are documentaries about GMOs, and people assume it is true. It might be a documentary by a single person, and may not be true.” Yow worries about

classes and worked to catch up. “Between my Grandpa pushing

assaults on science. Despite years of trials by established

me and my teacher, Dr. Gretel Guest, I did well.” While Yow was

researchers — verifying findings decades in the making—distrust

enrolled in Guest’s biology II class, her mother died, landing

persists.

another blow. But there was no more failing—Yow persisted. “I was on the road to being a biologist.” Yow had not only her grandparents, but a professor who believed in her. She transferred successfully to NC State two years later, graduated and entered the plant biology program. She

Also, genetic engineering remains expensive for specialty crops like blueberries. Yow’s research steps into that gap. “There are no companies currently genetically engineering blueberries that I am aware of," she explains. “But, I think the perfect option is to find the gene responsible for a trait and reengineer the plant.” As for her personal future, Yow begins a new project in

sent Guest an email of thanks for having helped her. Guest

pineapple research next year under NC State’s Massimo Iorizzo.

responded, saying she understood that Yow had faced unusual

She will continue working with gene expression analysis for

stresses and that it was inspiring to know she was doing well.

her doctorate, working with Iorizzo in the plant genetics and

“My father would have been so proud,” Yow said. “I know my grandfather was super proud, for me to be here, and go on and get my master’s. He was tickled pink.” Her grandmother died in 2010. Yow lost her father in 2011 and her mother in 2015. She lost her grandfather this year. “It’s just me and my sister and my uncle now,” Yow says. “That’s the whole family.” She keeps her grandparents’ picture as a talisman in the lab

nutritional genomics lab. In, say, another five years, she has a new fantasy. “I’d like to be at a biotech company and managing a lab,” Yow says. “I like being a group leader. 

Ashley Yow won top honors this spring among her fellow graduate researchers for her analytical research of blueberries. She is now beginning doctoral studies.

BECKY KIRKLAND

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

BECKY KIRKLAND

Jessica Phillips

JESSICA PHILLIPS: AN INTREPID VETERAN AND NC STATE ALUM FINDS A HAT THAT FITS

BY N ATA L I E H A MP TO N

s a ranger at William B. Umstead State Park near Raleigh, Jessica Phillips asks visiting school children for a show of hands: “who has NEVER been to a state park before?” Sometimes, she is discouraged to see quite a few hands shoot up.

It is both good news and bad news for Phillips: Good news

that kids are getting a chance to visit the park, even if it is their first. But Phillips would like to see all kids—and adults— experience the outdoors through North Carolina’s state parks. And it has inspired her to look for ways to spread the word about the state parks and all they have to offer.

“I didn’t want us to be a society where we don’t go outside,” said Phillips, who earned a master's degree at NC State in parks, recreation, sport and tourism management. “I thought that by

bringing the parks to (the people), we might then bring them to the parks.” Phillips has used her role as park ranger—first at Kerr Lake State Recreation Area and now at William B. Umstead State Park—to spread the word and teach the public about the parks

through “Ask a Ranger” columns and podcasts and a museum exhibit of park staff’s nature photos. In the spring, she shared some of her life story at a Story Collider event in Durham. Phillips’ journey to becoming a park ranger took time, though she always knew that was where she wanted to be. She learned to love the outdoors taking long car trips with her mother from their home in Chicago to national parks in the western United States. She earned an undergraduate degree in biology from Indiana University, and then spent five years in the Marines, including two deployments in Iraq. While deployed overseas, Phillips was an ejection seat and cooling system mechanic for the AV8B Harrier II jets. Being in the Marines gave her the opportunity to work on different things and move around between different tasks, which Phillips enjoyed.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

Before she became a ranger, Phillips worked a desk job briefly for her mother and discovered that office work wasn’t for her. “In the Marine Corps, I was out on a flight deck and an open

stories to be performed live on stage. Phillips decided to accept the challenge to share her story about transitioning from being a Marine to becoming a park ranger because she felt it was a story

squadron, and I learned that I was somebody who didn’t want to

that other veterans could relate to. She was selected to share

work in an office,” she said. “I would have slowly died.”

her story in Durham and Kinston in front of live audiences.

She believed that being a park ranger was a good fit for her

One of Phillips favorite places at Umstead is the changing

skills and her need to move around between many different

terrain under the power transmission lines that run through the

tasks. And she felt that her military experience had taught her

park. Occasionally, the power company will kill off vegetation

how to learn on the job.

under the lines, but then the life cycle starts again.

“I applied for every ranger job, and Kerr Lake let me in,” Phillips said, adding, “It’s the best job!” Kerr Lake is a state recreation area north of Raleigh, near the Virginia line. It was there that Phillips first reached out to local media to share information about the parks. She developed a

“I love wandering around power lines, especially when the vegetation starts coming back. That’s always fun in the spring through fall. Go and look at the life that you find along the power lines,” she said. She also enjoys the history and the natural oasis that

regular column for the local newspaper, The Henderson Dispatch,

Umstead provides in the middle of the city. Before it became

and participated in regular programs for the local radio station.

a park, the land was mostly used for farming. Within the park’s

Her columns and radio interviews focused on flora and fauna

almost 6,000 acres, there are cemeteries, as well as the remains

of the parks, as well as park history. Each year, the parks system

of homes and other structures—including the Company Mill—

adopts a theme—this year, it is spiders—and Phillips would often

that were once part of a thriving Wake County community.

incorporate a column about that subject as well. When she moved to Umstead State Park in December 2014,

Recently, a 90+-year-old man took rangers through the park to visit the site of his childhood home, now on the park’s Company

Phillips discovered that the larger newspapers in the area weren’t

Mill Trail. “We were standing right among the bricks, and he’s

as receptive to her column. So she decided to think bigger, and

telling us about how he got a tricycle and remembering sitting on

the state parks division created a page for the “Ask a Ranger”

the porch,” she said.

columns. She invited other colleagues to share their parks wisdom as well. Phillips also decided to try her hand at creating podcasts—

Phillips is grateful to her supervisors at the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation for supporting her ideas for bringing the parks to the people. And she attributes many of her ideas to

recorded interviews with other park employees about the role

the faculty and fellow students she encountered while working

of park rangers and park management issues, like controlling

on her online degree program in parks, recreation, tourism, and

invasive species. She’s still working on the idea and has found

sport management (PRTSM).

that some of the older park visitor centers create a hollow sound

Having served in the Marines, Phillips was eligible for the G.I.

on the recordings. Phillips is seeking a way to improve the quality

Bill to pay for higher education. But her eligibility was running out

of her recordings.

during the time she worked at Kerr Lake, and she was at least an

Last year, when the state parks celebrated their centennial, Phillips created photo exhibits that appeared at two of the state’s

hour’s drive from the state’s major universities. Phillips discovered the online master’s degree and was

museums in Raleigh. While uploading her own photos to a parks’

thrilled to be accepted. As a single parent working full time, she

gallery, Phillips came across amazing images from other staff

felt like the program met her needs. “It couldn’t have fit more

and used them in the exhibit “I Spy with My Park Ranger Eye” at

perfectly into my schedule,” she said.

the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. An exhibit of historic and modern photos of the state parks—

The online program is broken into quarters, and it allowed Phillips to focus on one subject at a time. “I have really used

“See the Parks from Our Eyes”—appeared at the N.C. Museum

something from every class—it opened my eyes to new ideas,”

of History to honor the parks centennial.

she said.

Last spring, Phillips saw a call from Story Collider for unique

As impressed as she was with the PRTSM faculty and

BECKY KIRKLAND

courses, she was equally blown away by the caliber of her classmates—some from across the country–and the ideas they shared. “My cohort was doing amazing things,” Phillips said. “I’ll be forever grateful—they opened my mind to different ideas.”  LEARN MORE: Ask a Ranger https://www.ncparks.gov/park-news/ask-ranger Story Collider https://www.storycollider.org/shows/2017/5/19/raleigh-nc-new-frontiers Ask a Ranger podcast https://www.buzzsprout.com/115062/545727-what-does-a-park-ranger-do

HT T P S : / / W W W. N C PA R K S. G OV / W I L L I A M - B U M ST E A D - STAT E - PA R K

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

Latonya Graham is a doctoral candidate studying Counselor Education and the 2016-2017 Wilkinson Graduate Ethics Fellow at North Carolina State University. Her primary research involves ethics in counseling. She is also interested in the aging population and racial disparities in mental health.

Latonya Graham

Codifying Matters of Client Confidentiality and Public Health:

Researching Ethics in Counseling with an Aim to

Help Others

BY C Y NTHIA ADAMS

atonya Graham, who worked in the area of personal

Graham was also required to perform investigative activities,

notification for sexually transmitted disease,

intended to locate and refer those suspected of having STDs

understands the social costs for a state that ranks

for examination and treatment. This was neither simple nor

high nationally for opioid addiction. Four North

straightforward.

Carolina cities rank among the top 20 nationwide—

Wilmington, Jacksonville, Fayetteville, and Hickory. Sexually transmitted diseases can parallel the alarmingly high

addiction statistics in North Carolina. The ranking doesn’t surprise Graham, who learned years

She performed an unnerving job. Working alone, knocking on doors, and trying to broach the topics of disease status and treatment with all types of people, Graham grew up fast. “I was in my 20s…so young! I didn’t know how complicated it could be. We needed to be careful about how, when, and

earlier that STDs were far too commonplace in the state. “With

where we approached our patients. We were asking people to

all of their efforts, it is a difficult task for prevention experts and

trust us with the most intimate details of their personal lives.”

other public health officials to get ahead of the issue,” she notes. As a young college graduate in her first public health job,

She took this responsibility seriously, also bringing patients information and support. “I wanted to leave people

Latonya Graham entered the homes of the well-heeled and the

with knowledge, hope, and their dignity intact.” At first, “I

down-on-their-luck.

was amazed that my position existed. I felt conflicted about

She was there to deliver highly sensitive health information as

addressing such private matters through public health.”

one of a network of public health officials tasked with notification

Nonetheless, Graham says “a high level of sensitivity was

of sexually transmitted diseases.

supported and demanded by her supervisors.“ At the time, there

Forget stereotypes, Graham stresses. This exchange took place in all types of homes. From this vantage point, Graham has had a very particular window into the most sensitive of issues. Her first job in the

was not a public health code of ethics, yet “there were clear expectations of how we were to treat our patients. We received extensive training in order to perform the job at a high standard.” Many of these early professional experiences combine with

public health sector as a health communication specialist at

her later academic studies to inform her dissertation focus, an

the American Social Health Association included psychosocial

examination of counselors’ understanding and application of the

counseling and referrals related to STDs.

revision to the latest American Counseling Association (ACA)

In 2000, Graham accepted a position with the N.C. Department

Code of Ethics pertaining to confidentiality and privacy.

of Health and Human Services as a public health disease control

Although counseling and counselor education emerged as her

specialist. In that role, she counseled, interviewed, and provided

career choice, public health was not far behind. Public health was

resources to patients diagnosed with syphilis and HIV/AIDS.

a lesser known career path, Graham explains, and that aspect

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

intrigued her. “When I was growing up, I was aware of the opportunities within education, military, medicine, law or more traditional routes. I had no idea what would be a good fit for me.” Graham viewed a career in public health as a process of selfdiscovery as well. For a young, soft-spoken woman, and also one 110 MILLION ESTIMATED TOTAL NUMBER OF STD INFECTIONS IN THE U.S. GONORRHEA, CHLAMYDIA AND SYPHILIS ARE ALL ON THE RISE

straight out of college, this had meant a fierce learning curve. Others noticed Graham’s maturity, compassion, and commitment to her patients. “When I worked in public health, my supervisor said, ‘have you thought about going back to graduate school to be a counselor?’” She had thought about it. This had been a recurring question over the years. Little did they know that Graham had

By Ryan F. Mandelbaum

actually been admitted into a master’s program in Fayetteville,

Reported cases of sexually transmitted

just prior to being offered her first public health position in the

diseases hit an all-time high in 2015,

Research Triangle Park.

according to a new report from the

“I was so excited and grateful for the job. I decided not to

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and

start school,” she explains. After several years of public health,

Prevention, which tracks the three most

her professional confidence grew and at age 30 she felt ready to

common STDs: chlamydia, gonorrhea

focus on graduate work.

and syphilis. The CDC attributes

There would be a decade between a bachelor’s degree in

the upswing to an erosion of public

psychology and sociology earned at the University of Alabama

prevention resources and treatment

at Birmingham and Graham’s master’s degree in counseling

services, as well as increased screening.

psychology at Fayetteville State University.

An increase in online dating may

“I have to admit that I had some initial fear and reservations

also contribute, especially for young

about my age and the time lapse. However, taking the risk

men who have sex with men, says

and time to invest in myself through education is one of the

Eric Schrimshaw, a professor at the

best decisions I have made.” Graham “credits several amazing

Columbia University Mailman School

professors for their influence and support, but the two I consider

of Public Health. Schrimshaw thinks

mentors are Dr. Doreen Hilton, a counseling psychologist, and

more extensive and comprehensive sex

Dr. Akbar Aghajanian, a sociologist. Their leadership led to my

education, along with better community

master’s thesis entitled, ‘Mental health status among pre-retired

services, could most effectively overturn

African Americans.’”

the trend. At their worst, STDs can cause

Again and again, Graham took on high-stress, challenging

infertility, cancer and death—and their

roles as an in-home clinician, staff psychologist, instructor, and

spread can lead to antibiotic resistance.

substance abuse prevention coordinator that challenged her. A

Source: Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2015. U.S. Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, October 2016

succession of experiences stretched her, teaching Graham to become emotionally nimble. But providing prisoner assessments inside a NC correctional facility caused her to re-evaluate career options. “I have always found fulfillment when working with students on college campuses, but I accepted what I thought would be a great opportunity in one of the prisons. Ironically, colleges and prisons have some interesting similarities. Both settings include

“I was attracted to all the ways you could help people in this unique way. Contrary to stereotypes, I saw ﬁrsthand that diseases were not reserved for only the poor, less educated, and youngest members of our society. Public health allowed me to serve people from all walks of life.” BECKY KIRKLAND

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

a campus filled with possibility and potential. Both populations

are in a position to notify others determined to be exposed to

require specialized support in order to be successful.”

specific diseases by their clients. Right now, it is at the discretion

The reality inside a prison was discouraging. And the job “meant that you also are in prison for that time,” Graham

of the counselor when and how notification of third parties takes place,” she says.

explains. “In providing inmate assessments, I realized there wasn’t a lot of hope behind bars.” She returned to a university to study counseling, consulting, and mentoring.

AFFIRMATION: BECOMING A WALTER H. WILKINSON RESEARCH ETHICS FELLOW

Graham was introduced to NC State’s counseling and counselor education doctoral program by an alumna and

For the past three years, Graham had been exploring and

former counseling supervisor LoriAnn Stretch. “LoriAnn’s

developing what would become her dissertation topic. In 2016, a

professionalism and encouragement were major influences in my

happy event advanced her scholarship when the Graduate School

selection of NC State University,” she says.

awarded her Walter H. Wilkinson Graduate Fellowship.

She can testify to there being more to the process than

“I was thankful to be selected,” Graham says, with more

selecting the best school. “They must select you as well,”

than a touch of wonder in her voice even now. “It was a shock

Graham says, and had to wait a year before admission. In 2014,

to me even when I received the message. I thought they were

she enrolled, deciding to make the most of her opportunity. “A

contacting me with more questions.”

good friend asked me what I wished I had done more in my life. I said I’d like to travel.” And travel she has! Since 2014, Graham has been to China

Graham viewed the fellowship as an affirmation that she was on the right path. “Researching counseling ethics was a meeting at the crossroads,” Graham states, “of all my

and England in the course of her work and studies, traveling

experiences throughout my career. “I had a few ideas about my

to cities such as Beijing, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and London.

dissertation but now I thought, ‘this is it, this is my priority.’”

This year, Graham was selected to provide a presentation at

Graham understood it would require great effort to frame a

an international conference at Beijing Normal University. Her

dissertation around a fraught and complicated issue. Buoyed up

advisor, Siu-Man Raymond Ting, is the program coordinator and

by the fellowship, Graham decided she would tackle the issue

currently conducting research in China.

of notification head on and structure guidelines for licensed

Although Graham was born in Germany as part of a military family, she has spent most of her life in North Carolina. Asian

professional counselors. “I’m addressing changes to a code of ethics published in

cities were vastly different than ones she knew. “Obtaining

2014, the ACA code of ethics,” she explains. In the course of her

a greater global perspective has served to broaden my mind

research, Graham talks with fellow counselors, integrating their

and appreciation for another culture in ways I could not have

experiences. She confesses, “I believe that there is a great need

imagined.”

to know the outcome of this research in order to standardize

Graham is currently working on her dissertation and thinking about the journey to her next graduation. Another decade has

how we apply the expectations of our code. I came here, I have a purpose, and I will follow this wherever it takes me.”

passed since Graham completed a master’s. There has been “something about the 10-year cycle” for her, she explains. Her

“MY PAST IS NOT WASTED: I AM THAT BRIDGE.”

life reflects “cycles of education and application of knowledge.” On a recent September afternoon, Graham had participated

In many senses, Graham is facing new and uncharted territory.

in a counseling workshop. “The burden of the stigma and shame

“My research is brand new for counselors and other mental

associated with contracting contagious, life threatening diseases

health professionals, even for my committee. Every person said

cause many clients to seek private, confidential support from

‘I have never thought about this subject before.’ My past is not

counselors. These professional counseling relationships are based

wasted.” She says this will help both clients and counselors.

on clients’ ability to confide in someone they can trust,” she noted. “According to the latest counseling standards, counselors

Graham is addressing the ethical dilemma for notification, coining the term “justified disclosure.”

BECKY KIRKLAND

“What I’ve figured out is that public health specialists borrowed from professional counselors. This interdisciplinary approach would allow us to capitalize on what we already do well as counselors and carry out our duties safely. One profession is helping the other…I would like to use my research to be that bridge.”  FOR FURTHER READING: https://cals.ncsu.edu/news/engineering-a-new-mosquito/

Graham has over a decade of counseling experience serving adults and children, as well as couples and families, in public and private settings. In past roles, she has experienced a thicket of issues that public health specialists and counselors must navigate.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

Michael Lloyd

NUM NUM! This Family Recipe is a Recipe for Success BY N ATALIE HAMPTON

etting laid off from a job proved to be an opportunity for Michael Lloyd, a PhD student at NC State. A month after earning his master’s degree at North Carolina Central University in Durham, he lost his job with a pharmaceutical

company and decided to become a sauce entrepreneur. Now a student in NC State’s food, bioprocessing and nutrition

sciences department, Lloyd is passionate about the product he developed called Num Num Sauce. He learned the process to create the sauces from his grandfather. And when he needed more knowledge about bioprocessing to take the product further, he came to NC State to pursue his doctorate. Growing up in Florida, Lloyd thought his Grandfather Faison (who was from Faison, N.C., but lived in Waynesville, Georgia) cooked the best food. He discovered his grandfather’s secret was not a recipe, but rather a process used to create the sauce. “My grandfather’s food was better than everybody else’s. His ribs always turned out different and better than everybody else’s” Lloyd said. “So he shared some technology he had used for many years.” In 2008, Lloyd started his business, making sauces at night F R E E M A N F OTOG R A F I C S

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

based on his grandfather’s process and marketing them on the weekends. As the business grew, he began to think about pursuing his PhD. “When I realized NC State had a food science program, I said, ‘that’s perfect. I’ll be able to learn more about the technology that I have and the food product,’” he said. Though other food science students have tried their hand at entrepreneurship, it’s unusual to see someone have the success THE SCIENCE OF SAUCE is not so simple: “The processes vary based upon the condiment attributes and flavor profile characteristics we target for activation,” explained Lloyd. ”These bioprocessing methods include, but are not limited to steeping and brewing (as with tea production), fermentation (as with soy sauce production), applying centrifugal force, varying degrees of pressure, shear stress, thermal energy, enzymatic catalysis, and the application of bionanomaterials in some cases. Applying the methods is quite extensive and very time consuming.“

that Lloyd has experienced, said Jon Allen, one of Lloyd’s professors. “He certainly is a special case—we don’t have a lot of people with his set of skills,” Allen said. Num Num Sauce is sold in Whole Foods Market and Fresh Market stores in six southeastern states and also in Europe through Marks & Spencer stores. And it comes in a variety of options: mustard-based sauces and a tomato-based sauce that comes in mild and hot varieties. All are marketed as “lowsodium, gluten-free, fat-free, no fillers, no additives.” The feedback from consumers is positive because they appreciate the healthy profile of the product, Lloyd said. It’s not a barbecue sauce, he adds, though it could be used that way. Mainly, it’s a condiment that can enhance the flavor of meat, vegetables or even a salad. And because condiments are such a staple of the American diet—think salsa, ketchup and marinara sauce—Lloyd’s research has focused on enhancing the nutritional value of products like Num Num Sauce. Through his work in the pharmaceutical industry and his graduate training, Lloyd has come to see food as more than just something to eat. Functional foods or medicinal foods—even condiments—are foods enhanced to actually improve health. Lloyd is studying the processing of carotenoids—red and yellow plant pigments—and especially lycopene, a powerful antioxidant found in tomatoes. Because tomatoes are a key ingredient in many condiments, enhancing the absorptive properties of the lycopene could help sauce consumers avoid certain chronic diseases, Lloyd said.

NUM NUM SAUCE is a condiment

In his master’s program, Lloyd studied how inflammation,

described as “the taste of a southern

a physical condition in which the body reacts to injury or

country secret” on their website, www.

disease, is regulated by the body. Inflammation can be caused

numnumsauce.com. They have vied

by free radicals, molecules that can damage healthy cells. But

for success in the high-end grocery

antioxidants like lycopene can help mitigate the effects of free

segment at Whole Foods Market and

radicals on the body, perhaps reducing the deterioration that

Fresh Market stores.

comes with aging, Lloyd said.

F R E E M A N F OTOG R A F I C S

“If we can increase lycopene in the vascular system, we could reduce people’s risk factors for cardiovascular disease and cancers,” Lloyd said. “If we can improve the ability to absorb antioxidants, that are anti-inflammatory, that’s a good thing and that’s innovative. This (degree program) is an innovative program, and (NC State is) an innovative school.” Lloyd said that working in both the pharmaceutical industries and food product development while in graduate school definitely helped him to understand and apply new skills as he learned them. Just hours after acquiring a new skill in class, he would be applying it to his work in industry or product development, he said. “This degree program has prepared me, has given me the theoretical knowledge and understanding of food science, food chemistry, food packaging, flavor chemistry. So I apply those concepts as an entrepreneur but also as a product developer,” he said. His company Amelioron Corp. is a product development and manufacturing firm based in Durham. He is interested in developing new food products, in addition to the Num Num Sauces, with enhanced nutritional value. By creating value-added products made from North Carolina agricultural commodities, he would like to help farmers to be more successful. Creating new markets for value-added products made from produce like tomatoes can help grow the state’s agricultural industry. In addition, Lloyd is studying odor reception signaling because our ability to detect or identify odors or scents determines how well we taste the foods we eat—no sense of smell means no ability to taste, or a limited ability to taste at best. By enhancing our ability to smell food, Lloyd believes he can influence the flavor profile of foods. In Schaub Hall on NC State’s campus, Lloyd works in Jon Allen’s nutrition lab. He also works with Mario Ferruzzi at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis on carotinoid bioaccessibility. “He’s just a real go-getter,” Allen said of Lloyd. “Once he gets his PhD, he’ll really take off.” Lloyd said that he considers himself an entrepreneur first, who became a doctoral student to gain needed skills.

“This degree program has prepared me, has given me the theoretical knowledge and understanding of food science, food chemistry, food packaging, flavor chemistry. So I apply those concepts as an entrepreneur but also as a product developer.”

Of his experience at NC State, Lloyd says, “It’s helped me understand the nuances of food science. It’s enabled me to develop tools for my toolbox. With more tools, your capacity to build is exponential.” 

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

BECKY KIRKLAND

Tova N. Williams

We Need More Industry Immersion Programs

BY TOVA N. WIL LIAMS

IIPs

octoral or postdoctoral researchers are no longer

Interview Preparation as a Project” (Kristen Eads, P.E., M.M.B.,

surprised to hear that the number of available

GlaxoSmithKline), and “Industry Market Assessment” (Jessica

tenured faculty positions is scarce. Coupled with

Settimi, MBA, Patheon). Numerous panels composed of industry

the fact that many doctoral and postdoctoral

representatives were also offered during the week; these

researchers are simply not interested in such

panels offered several different lenses to view industry careers,

careers, an unmet need remains—cultivating opportunities

including panels on careers off the bench, entrepreneurship and

to train these researchers to enter an alternative career track:

startups, and R&D careers. Also, participants were challenged

industry. For most doctoral or postdoctoral researchers, no

to prepare and deliver a one-minute personal elevator pitch

professional training programs exist in the academy on how to

along with a three-minute research elevator pitch for which

transition from academia to industry, let alone programs that

they received instant feedback by academic officials, industry

allow trainees to assess their strengths, skills, and career vision

professionals, and peers in the program. In addition, resumes

to determine if they can make such a transition. But there can

and LinkedIn profiles were reviewed, and professional

and should be.

photos that participants could use for LinkedIn were taken.

Universities like NC State are pioneering the way to

Participants also collaborated in groups of four to five to pitch

establish such programs. In fact, the NC State Graduate School

a new technology or product idea, applying knowledge learned

hosted its inaugural Industry Immersion Program (IIP), July 30 -

throughout the week to do so including how to identify target

August 4. I was one of 50 selected participants in the program,

markets and how to navigate the intellectual property landscape.

which included various seminars led by industry representatives

In total, more than 25 different companies were represented,

on a variety of topics including “Non-Technical Skills for the

including BASF, LORD, Eastman, Google, PPD, GlaxoSmithKline,

Technically Trained” (Jessica Cerasani, PHR, BASF), “Managing

and Fujifilm Diosynth.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

Here are five specific ways the Industry Immersion Program was a benefit to me:

It reinforced the idea that I have many options if pursuing an industry career, some options I never knew before. Other industry career options exist for scientists beyond the benchtop, including but not limited to opportunities

in entrepreneurship, consulting, project management, regulatory affairs, marketing, and technology transfer. For example, one could work in technology transfer to help commercialize new products.

I learned to erase my fears of being incapable of performing up to job standards. During a networking lunch that BASF sponsored, I met Michael Pcolinski, PhD, vice president of Advanced Materials & Systems

Research. He asked me what my greatest fear was, and I responded, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not being able to perform well on the job after being hired, and subsequently being fired.â&#x20AC;? He assured me though that since companies invest thousands of dollars into hiring individuals, they truly desire their success. In other words, they are willing to help new employees. To receive such help, it must be requested.

For most doctoral or postdoctoral researchers, no professional training programs exist in the academy on how to transition from academia to industry, let alone programs that allow trainees to assess their strengths, skills, and career vision to determine if they can make such a transition. But there can and should be. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Tova Williams is a PhD student in fiber and polymer science and chemistry. She is also a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.

postdoctoral researcher) requires the capacity to communicate

to a variety of audiences with different learning styles. This

product idea, and I am confident that we will continue to keep in

is exactly what industry desires! Fiala also charged program

touch long after the program. ď Ž

I recognized teaching a course can add value to your resume if seeking a career in industry. As David Fiala, PhD (Google Privacy & Security) claimed, the ability to teach effectively now as a graduate student (or

I made more than just industry connections! The program allowed me to also make connections with a group of 49 other graduate and post-graduate researchers passionate to seek careers in industry.

I must say, I worked with a phenomenal team to pitch a new

attendees to discover other ways to utilize available resources to show preparedness for industry careers.

The Graduate School would like to acknowledge these founding

sponsors who made the inaugural Industry Immersion Program I learned that effective leaders are those who can

possible: BASF, Eastman Chemical Company, Lord Corporation,

make confident decisions in the face of uncertainty.

and NC State alumnus Sameer Tendulkar, MS 2010 and PhD 2013.

These words are essentially a snapshot of what Barbara Mulkey, P.E., director of the NC State General

H. Hugh Shelton Leadership Center, expressed at a luncheon. She also urged program participants desiring to be leaders to be unwavering in decisions made and to take ownership if a decision proved to be poor.

BECKY KIRKLAND

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

Rejaul Hasan:

Striving To Build a Safe, Sustainable Apparel Industry

C OU RT E SY O F R E JAU L H ASA N

Rejaul Hasan

Sometimes tragedy strikes so close that it changes the trajectory of a life. BY C AR LA DAVIS

or NC State student Rejaul Hasan, 2013 had been

the factory, and that’s hard to get,” Hasan said. “The data need

a good year. After studying textiles at University

to be really, really precise. Five cents per garment is a big issue;

of Manchester in England, he was back home in

business moves from Bangladesh to other countries for as little

Bangladesh working for a global sports apparel

as 1 cent.”

company. He traveled extensively to local factories to

A recipient of NC State’s Walter H. Wilkinson Graduate Fellowship, Hasan has involved Cotton Inc., Poole College’s

source apparel. But on April 24 that year, the global apparel industry shook.

Supply Chain Resource Cooperative and faculty from College

Just a few miles from from Dhaka, the capital of

of Textiles and Pennsylvania State University in this project.

Bangladesh, the eight-story Rana Plaza factory collapsed,

His research could ultimately become a framework that helps

killing more than 1,100 workers and injuring thousands more. It

determine responsible garment sourcing prices in other

remains the deadliest garment factory accident in history.

countries.

“Before [Rana Plaza], I thought I am doing a perfect job,”

“If I can help save one person dying from a factory

Hasan said. “It was an eye opener. What is happening? Are we

fire, that’s a meaningful mission. I hope my study will help

doing everything right? Do we really have enough knowledge

Bangladesh build a safer apparel supply chain. I’m doing

about supply chain, sustainability and labor rights to build a

something meaningful to help my country and create a better

sustainable apparel supply chain in Bangladesh? I felt in my heart

life,” he said.

I must have a much better understanding of sustainability in the context of global supply chain.” The global reputation of Poole College of Management and the College of Textiles drew Hasan to NC State, where he began PhD studies in the College of Textiles in 2015. With a focus on

In addition to his studies, Hasan has served as a student associate in Poole College’s Business Sustainability Collaborative. By helping educate students about sustainability, he hopes more consumers will demand sustainability from brands. “When you’re going to buy something, try to learn how

sustainability and supply chain, his dissertation research aims to

it’s made. When consumers do that, brands and retailers will

uncover the price point at which garments made in Bangladesh

do better sourcing to ensure a safe, sustainable and fair supply

must be purchased to ensure sustainability, safety and fair labor

chain,” Hasan said.

rights for factory workers. As one of the world’s leading garment exporters, Bangladesh offers low manufacturing prices to apparel brands. “According to local manufacturers, the price is too low. When they are underpaid, they cannot ensure better safety or sustainability,” Hasan said. His research will take him back to Bangladesh, where he will

After graduating from NC State, Hasan hopes to work for a major apparel brand or return to Bangladesh, where he has already started a company to support sustainable practices among apparel brands, retailers and local manufacturers. “I’m passionate about the global apparel industry. Global apparel business has brought many positive changes in my country, and I want to make sure the manufacturers and brands

use his existing professional network to compile data from locally

are doing it the right way,” Hasan said. “I want to be a part of the

owned factories and subcontractors.

business to change business.” 

“There is no study like this. You need a lot of solid data from

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL THINK MAGAZINE WINTER 2018

NONPROFIT ORG. U. S. POSTAGE

PAID

RALEIGH, NC PERMIT NO. 2353

The Graduate School 1020 Main Campus Drive Room 2300A Raleigh, NC 27695-7102 P: 919.515.2872 grad.ncsu.edu

“Matters of right or wrong are not necessarily straighforward and evident.”—WALTER WILKINSON WILKINSON GRADUATE ETHICS FELLOWSHIP Nearly 20 years ago, the Walter H. Wilkinson Graduate Fellowship was created to fund research areas grappling with complex ethical concerns and processes. Alumnus Walter Wilkinson views these Fellowships as supporting “the gray areas—dealing with research issues that aren’t black and white. These are sometimes very difficult to address.” By example, current Fellow Rejaul Hasan considers matters of workers’ rights as balanced against harsh market demands. (Hasan’s article is on page 40.) Fellow Latonya Graham seeks to standardize the notification of sexually transmitted disease, working with counselors and public health officials. (Her story is on page 26.) “Matters of right or wrong are not necessarily straightforward and evident,” Wilkinson says, mentioning ethical issues such as inherent bias or falsified research. When Walter and Jean Wilkinson established the fellowship in 1999, they chose ethics as a “difficult, legitimate area of concern cutting across all disciplines.”

For more about the Graduate School, visit: grad.ncsu.edu NC State’s graduate students and alumni are top innovators in North Carolina and the nation. Your campus and classroom experiences were life changing. So share them! Email: success-stories@ncsu.edu NC State University promotes equal opportunity and prohibits discrimination and harassment based upon one’s age, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation and veteran status.