Jody Albright, a former business owner from Salisbury, is a 2011 graduate of Rowan-Cabarrus Comunity College with AS and AAS in Biotechnology degrees. He has recently joined the NRI in Dr. Bennett's lab as a laboratory technician. Jody is excited to use his recent education to develop several new protocols for the laboratory .

Dr. Baah is from Ghana where he practiced medicine before migrating to the United States. He says, "My passion to go into medicine stems from the experiences I had growing up in a small town of about a thousand people with limited access to healthcare. I developed the passion to go into research because I believe it is the driving force to the future of medicine." He graduated from UNC-Charlotte with a Master's in Epidemiology in May 2020. His areas of interest include genetic epidemiology, nutrigenomics, and nutrigenetics. He currently works with Dr. Martin Kohlmeier to strengthen training programs in precision nutrition, particularly for physicians.

Keri Barron joined the NRI in August 2014 as a doctoral student in the Nutrition department at UNC Chapel Hill. She completed her undergraduate and masters programs at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. She graduated in May 2014 with her BS and MS in Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism. She successfully defended her thesis on how ceramics, a group of bioactive lipids, respond to folate in April 2020. Dr. Barron is looking forward to more work on this study, which is so large the data collection alone took a full year. In the future, she would like to teach, as she loves nutrition and talking about nearly every aspect of it.

Lauren joined the NRI in March 2020 as a data analyst in the Voruganti Lab. She has recently completed her Master of Science degree in Bioinformatics and Genomics, and will begin her Ph.D. in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics this fall. She is assisting the Voruganti Lab group with data analysis for the Viva La Familia study at NRI, and she is also working on an urban microbial metagenomics study at UNCC. Outside of the lab, she enjoys spending time with family, friends, and traveling.

Catherine is an undergraduate student at UNC Chapel Hill and is pursuing a BS in Biology with Minors in Chemistry and Medical Anthropology. She has recently rejoined Dr. Hursting’s lab and will be studying the effects of hypoxia in cancer cells with Dr. Kiesel. In her free time, she enjoys baking, hiking, traveling, and finding the best foodie spots around town. Her long-term plans are to attend medical school and become a primary care physician or a cardiologist.

Mike completed his PhD in Biochemistry and Cell Biology at the University College Cork in Ireland, where his work examined the role of growth factor signaling in mitochondrial homeostasis. He joined the Hursting lab for postdoctoral training in 2017 to explore systemic and cellular metabolic determinants of cancer therapy outcomes. He is now based in Chapel Hill, but fondly remembers the first half of his postdoctoral training at the NRI.

Emily began working at UNC Chapel Hill in August 2019 as a doctoral student. She is studying the metabolic links between obesity and ferroptosis in breast cancer under the mentorship of Dr. Hursting. Prior to her time in Chapel Hill, Emily attended UC Berkeley where she graduated with a degree in Molecular Toxicology.

Victoria joined the UNC Nutrition Research Institute in September 2021 as a Clinical Research Specialist. She recently completed her Master of Science degree in Nutrition and Rural Development from Ghent University. Victoria has nearly a decade of experience assisting clinical trials and population-based surveillance studies, and she is passionate about nutritional epidemiology and food security. Her career ambition is to promote equitable access to health and nutrition. Victoria will work with Dr. Martin Kohlmeier and assist the projects headed at the Human Research Core.

Halle earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and Minor in Anthropology at St. Mary’s College of Maryland in May 2020. After moving to Charlotte, Halle joined the NRI in August 2020 as a Research Technician in Dr. Sergey Krupenko’s Lab, where she studies the role of folate in liver function and cancer disease. Halle plans to further her education in the research field within the next couple of years.

Elle completed her PhD at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill under the supervision of Dr. Ian Carroll where she investigated the consequences of severe calorie restriction on intestinal stem cell function and potential interactions of the gut microbiota. To further delineate dietary regulation of intestinal epithelial cell function, Elle has remained at UNC-Chapel Hill where she is now working with Drs. Stephen Hursting and Jatin Roper (Duke University) to investigate adipose-derived inflammatory factors that may drive colorectal tumor progression in obesity.

Savanna Hagler joined the NRI in May 2021 as a research technician in the Zeisel Lab. She is a native of Kannapolis and a 2017 graduate of A.L. Brown HS. In 2020 Savanna graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a BA in Exercise and Sport Science and a minor in neuroscience. She plans to continue her educational career in the coming years after gaining valuable research experience at the NRI with Dr. Zeisel and his remarkable team. In her free-time, Savanna enjoys spending time with her friends and family, hiking, traveling, and walking her dog around the new downtown Kannapolis.

Julie joined the NRI in 2012 as a Project Manager for Dr. Philip May focusing on the prevalence, child characteristics, and maternal risk factors of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) in the United States and South Africa. She earned her doctorate from the UNC-CH Department of Nutrition in 2021 and is now a postdoctoral research associate with Dr. May. Julie earned her BS in Health Science from Truman State University and a Masters in Public Health, with a concentration in Health Education and Health Behavior, from UNC-CH. Julie is also a Certified Health Education Specialist.

Grace graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a bachelor’s degree in both Psychology and Spanish. She is working at the Nutrition Research Institute as a research assistant in the Cheatham Lab, researching infant nutrition and cognitive development. In her free time Grace loves traveling, going to the beach, and painting.

Rick joined the NRI in 2017 as a communication specialist in Development and Outreach. He earned a BS in Criminal Justice Sciences at Illinois State University and was a juvenile probation officer and program developer for three years. He earned his Master of Divinity (M.Div.) at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ and was a full time pastor for 27 years. After retiring, Rick added a degree in Digital Design from the Art Institute of Charlotte in 2014 . He works with Suzanne Dane to interpret the work of the NRI to current and potential donors.

Sarah is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, and is a few classes away from completing a graduate degree at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health. In Sarah’s spare time, she loves reading, cooking, baking, and spending time outdoors (especially at the Whitewater Center). Sarah loves trivia and once appeared on an episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire!

Scott Jaworski joined the NRI in May 2008, where he serves as the Applications Analyst and IT Consultant. Scott brings years of experience in the University IT field, having worked in the IT Technical Support field both as a student and staff member at UNC Charlotte, where he graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science in 2001.

Martin grew up in Kannapolis and fell in love with this community, graduating from Rowan-Cabarrus Community College with an associate’s degree in science with a concentration in environmental biology. His interests include philosophy, history, cooking, video games. And raising his hens! As a local, Martin’s also an expert in the great debate between Sun Drop and Cheerwine! When you see him, ask which he prefers!

David Kirchner, MS is a Research Associate in the Sumner-Lab at NRI. He uses his training in mass spectrometry to analyze proteins and metabolites in biospecimens. Mr Kirchner has over 20 years of experience working in laboratories to conduct studies using genetic, molecular and cell biology, bioanalytical chemistry and bioinformatics approaches. He will contribute his knowledge to studies conducted for the Sumner-Lab.  Mr. Kirchner earned a MS in Biochemistry from Indiana University of PA in 2010.

Anju Lulla, PhD joined the NRI as a Research Associate in August 2018. She received her Phd from St. John’s University, NY, in Pharmaceutical Sciences with a focus in pharmacology. Prior to joining NRI, Anju was a research assistant at UNC Charlotte in the Bioinformatics Department. She brings with her expertise in bioinformatics and statistical analyses of genomic and microbiome data. She is working with Dr. Katie Meyer to study associations between nutritional metabolites, gut microbiome and cardiovascular health.

Blanca Castro Magdonel, PhD joined the NRI in September 2021 as a postdoctoral research associate in the Trujillo Laboratory, where she is working on choline molecular mechanisms involved in autistic brain development. Dr. Castro Magdonel earned her Doctor of Science degree in Pharmacology from the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV) in Mexico City, Mexico. Her studies included work on mechanisms involved in chemoresistance and microRNAs as biomarkers in Retinoblastoma. Dr. Castro Magdonel taught pharmacology and molecular biology classes for undergraduate and graduate programs in Medicine and Nursing programs at Universidad de Guanajuato in Celaya, México before joining the NRI. Dr. Castro Magdonel views her scientific research as her contribution toward helping those facing health problems.

Baba graduated from Gambia College School of Education with an AS in science and mathematics. He taught Junior Secondary School science for three years before migrating to the U.S. to pursue higher education. Baba joined the Voruganti lab as a student intern from RCCC before officially joining the team as research technician in July 2015.

Tori graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in May 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health and a Minor in Chemistry, completing an Honors Thesis investigating the microbial and metabolic impacts of surgical and dietary weight loss interventions for obesity in a preclinical breast cancer model. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Chapel Hill Hursting Lab within the Gillings School of Global Public Health, where she studies the interaction between gut microbiota composition and immunotherapy response in the context of basal-like breast cancer.

Susan McRitchie, MA, MS, is the lead biostatistician in the Sumner-Lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Nutrition Research Institute (NRI). She has over 20 years of experience using statistics and modeling approaches to associate survey data and laboratory measures from basic, clinical, and epidemiology investigations with a wide variety of health outcomes.  She served as the Program Coordinator for the NIH-Common Fund Eastern Regional Comprehensive Metabolomics Core (ERCMRC, 2012-2019), and contributed to working groups on data analysis and visualization, and promotion and outreach. She is currently the Program Coordinator for the North Carolina Human Health Exposure Analysis Resource Untargeted Analysis Laboratory (NC HHEAR UAL) that was established in August 2019.  Ms. McRitchie’s research interest lies in understanding how diet, and nutrients, can mitigate against adverse effects from exposures to drugs, medications, and environmentally relevant chemicals. Ms. McRitchie earned a MA in Mathematics from UCLA and a MS in Biostatistics from UNC Chapel Hill.

Tim is currently the Research Chef for the University of North Carolina metabolic kitchen in Kannapolis. He also is the Food Service Supervisor for the Lettuce Eat Café at the Nutrition Research Institute. He brings more than 30 years’ experience in food service and nutrition to our team. Tim is a local resident who relocated to the area after a successful career in the resort hospitality industry. Since returning to the area, he has been the Executive Chef of The Club at Irish Creek and was the owner of Chef’s Choice Gourmet Pastries. In 2014 he was provided the opportunity to work with the University of North Carolina to offer personalized nutrition. His passion for nutrition is evident in the food he creates.

Carolyn Munson graduated in 2015 from Rowan Cabarrus Community College with an AAS in biotechnology. She is working as a research technician in the Surzenko Lab at the NRI. Much of her work is directed by Dr. Natalia Surzenko performing immunohistochemistry work.

Brea received her Associate’s in Applied Science in Biotechnology at RCCC. She was an intern for the Voruganti lab from May 2017 until being hired July 2017. Brea’s focus is helping to recruit for studies and helping manage the Precision Nutrition Core, as well as, lab work. She also learned and became certified in phlebotomy while working at NRI. Brea is from Advance, NC and when she is not at work, she enjoys time with her family, dogs, fishing, and going to the beach.

Mayuri joined the NRI in September 2021, as a data analyst in the Voruganti Lab. She recently completed her Master’s degree in Bioinformatics and Genomics. She previously worked as an Intern at the NRI in 2020. She will be assisting the Voruganti Lab in the analysis of Nutrigenomics data involving genomics, metabolomics and lifestyle variables. In leisure time, Mayuri enjoys traveling with her family, trying new food recipes and relaxing with friends.

Evan Paules  joined the NRI in August 2016 as a doctoral student. He is studying the effects of choline on embryonic neurogenesis under the mentorship of Dr. Zeisel. Evan attended Rider University where he graduated with a double major in Biochemistry and Behavioral Neuroscience. He was also a member of Rider University’s Division 1 swim team for all four years while he attended Rider. Following his prospective graduation, Evan hopes to obtain a post-doctoral position to further his pursuit of obtaining a career in academia.

Laurel is an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she is pursuing a BS in Biology and a minor in Studio Art, with hopes of earning a BSPH in Nutrition. She joined Dr. Hursting’s lab at the Gillings School of Public Health and is studying the metabolic links between obesity and ferroptosis in breast cancer under Emily Devericks. Laurel hopes to attend medical school and pursue a career as a clinician.

Before getting a B.S. in Biology from UNC Charlotte, Bill completed an A.A.S. in Biotechnology at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and worked with protein-polyphenol aggregates as a technician in Dr. Lila's lab at PHHI.  After graduating, their interests in the intersections of Nutritional Biology and Social Ecology have led their work/study through diverse occupations such as greenhouse management, restoration agriculture, community organizing, and worker cooperatives (currently they are involved in an exploratory group to build natural houses and pools, and do permaculture landscaping).  They are also very excited to be back in a lab environment and interested in continuing their education by entering a graduate program in the near future.

David Raines graduated from The College of Wooster in May 2014 with a bachelor’s in biology. He’s very excited to be working as a laboratory technician in Sergery Krupenko’s lab. David enjoys spending his free time outdoors herping for reptiles and amphibians; hiking, and backpacking.

Ariana joined the NRI in November 2021 as a research technician in the Hursting lab. She graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in 2021 with a BS in Biology and minors in Chemistry and Health and Society. She's excited to work as a research technician and gain lab experience. In her free time, Ariana enjoys playing video games and creating art.

Dane received his BS in Marine Biology from UNC Wilmington in 2012.  After graduating he spent 3 years abroad working and traveling in Australia, where he worked as a Dive Master on the Great Barrier Reef; in Fiji, where he became a SCUBA Instructor and helped start a coral transplanting project; working and backpacking in New Zealand, and working as a SCUBA Instructor in Thailand.  Dane moved back to the United States in October of 2015 and decided to return to the lab, leading him to Rowan-Cabarrus Community College to earn an AAS in Biotechnology in May of 2018.  He worked as a contractor at DHMRI in the Analytical Science lab over the summer and in September 2018 became a part of Dr. Mooney’s lab as a Research Technician.

Nipun Saini joined the NRI in the summer of 2017 for her second postdoctoral position and will be working with Dr. Smith on fetal alcohol syndrome. She completed her PhD. in Biochemistry from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where her dissertation was focused on the characterization of inhibitors of fatty acid transport protein-2 in cell and animal models to reduce obesity, lipotoxicity and related diseases. After earning her PhD, she moved to the North Carolina Research Campus as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at North Carolina Central University and worked on understanding the mechanism of microRNA-mediated regulation in metformin treated breast cancer cells.

Mark joined the Hursting Lab in November 2021 as a research technician. He is new to the area after studying computational biology at William and Mary College and modeling bodily chemical exposure at the US Environmental Protection Agency in Durham, NC.

Jon Shea joined the Nutrition Research Institute in the summer of 2017. He is a graduate of UNC Charlotte’s Bioinformatics program.  He has worked in several labs working on research in single cell sequencing studying the transcriptomic changes in yeast and c. elegans as well as plant metabolites using HPLC and mass spectrometry.

Julie joined the NRI in 2009 with Dr. Carol Cheatham’s Nutrition & Cognition Lab where she helped launch some of the first human studies completed on the NCRC.  In her time with the NRI, she has also enjoyed working with Dr. Phil May to learn more about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs). She and has worked on research studies with babies, toddlers, school age children, and adults of all ages.  Julie earned a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a Masters in Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Julie’s current project is coordinating the Choline Status Study for Dr. Zeisel’s lab.

Melissa VerHague earned her PhD in molecular pathology from Wake Forest University. Her dissertation investigated the impact of apolipoprotein A-IV on triglyceride secretion and lipoprotein particle expansion associated with hepatic steatosis. A native of Buffalo, NY, she joined the NRI as a postdoctoral research associate in September of 2014. Currently, her research focuses on genetic links in obesity, nutrition, and cancer using genetically diverse mice. In addition to managing the Hursting Lab at the NRI, she is the manager of the NORC Animal Metabolism Phenotyping Core in Kannapolis.

Katie joined the NRI in August of 2019. She is a nutritional immunologist and received her PhD in Animal Science from North Carolina State University. Her dissertation focused on long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation as a means to dampen immunosuppressive effects of respiratory pathogens. She is now investigating impacts of fetal alcohol syndrome on Alzheimer-related pathologies and behavioral impairments.