A native of Salisbury, North Carolina, Mrs. Bouk has 17 years of experience in the clinical research industry, supporting a wide range of clinical and translational research projects. Her expertise spans phase II-IV industry-sponsored clinical trials, as well as federally-funded and investigator-initiated research studies. With over 14 years supporting the Duke University research office on the North Carolina Research Campus, Mrs. Bouk worked to engage healthcare practices and local communities to enroll large-scale, longitudinal, community research studies including the MURDOCK Study and the Project Baseline Health Study. Throughout her career, Mrs. Bouk has managed cross-functional study teams across various phases of the clinical trial lifecycle. This includes handling study contracts and budgets, regulatory submissions, patient recruitment plans, primary data collection, and implementing QC and QA practices. Recently, Mrs. Bouk supported a start-up company by developing a program to identify patients through an AI-powered patient matching solution for sponsors and clinical research sites. Mrs. Bouk graduated from North Carolina State University with a B.S. in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Nutrition, and earned an MBA from Wingate University in Corporate Innovation.

Spencer joined the NRI in 2025 after studying culinary and nutrition at JWU Charlotte and pursuing to learn as much as he possibly can, as well as contributing his skills to the NRI. He aspires to go back to school to further his education in nutrition and medical science. Spencer grew up in southern NC with his parents and two younger siblings. He studied at JWU Charlotte and UNC Charlotte. His hobbies involve cooking, video games, and building Lego sets.

Chrysa Mahoney is a Research Assistant at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Nutrition Research Institute (NRI). She joined the NRI in 2023 to work with Dr. Tate on the All of Us (AoU) Research Program and the Nutrition for Precision Health (NPH) study supported by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Chrysa has 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry in a variety of therapeutic areas and especially enjoyed working on therapies for T2DM and obesity.

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 had the pleasure of working with Dr. Philip May on his Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) research and founding director, Dr. Steven Zeisel, on his choline biomarker study.  She has coordinated studies with babies, toddlers, school age children, and adults.  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 is currently working on multiple projects, including the Nutrition for Precision Health study.  After living in Chapel Hill, Boston, Niger, and Asheville, Julie is a returned Kannapolis native who has enjoyed watching the area’s residents grow and learn in partnership with the research being conducted.