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. Bustamante-Marin earned her PhD in Biological Sciences with mention in Physiology from Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. After completing a Research Scholar training at Duke University and a postdoctoral appointment in the Cystic fibrosis Department at UNC, Dr. Bustamante-Marin joined the Gillings School’s Department of Nutrition in July 2019 as a Research Assistant Professor. Her research focuses on comprehending the effects of obesity on the function of the primary cilium in breast cancer cells and the consequences of the enrichment of cilia on the tumor microenvironment, metabolic reprogramming, and metastatic potential. She is also investigating the impact of obesity on the composition of extracellular vesicles derived from mammary tumors, and how the content of extracellular vesicles can modify metabolic pathways. Understanding the effects of obesity on the function of the primary cilium and in the composition of extracellular vesicles could generate opportunities for early detection and clinical interventions during breast cancer development.

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.

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.

Alyssa joined the Hursting Lab in May 2018 working at the NRI as a summer undergraduate research assistant. She then joined the Hursting Lab in Chapel Hill where her work focuses on targeting metabolic pathways through pharmacological and chemotherapeutic interventions to improve triple-negative breast cancer therapy. She obtained both her BSPH in Nutrition in May 2020 and her MS in Nutrition in May 2021 from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. She is now working as a Research Technician in the Hursting Lab and hopes to attend medical school in the future.

Hannah received her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Exercise from Virginia Tech in May 2018. She is currently a MPH-Nutrition student at Gillings and works in the Hursting Lab. Hannah is excited to research the impact of obesity and chronic disease on metabolism. In her free time, Hannah likes to spend time outside and bake desserts.

Evan Paules joined the NRI in August 2016 as a doctoral student under the mentorship of Dr. Zeisel. Following his graduation, Evan joined the lab of Dr. Hursting where he is now a postdoctoral researcher. Evan is currently investigating the determinants of heterogenic responses to dietary interventions in individuals. 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.

Nivi is an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she is pursuing a BSPH in Nutrition and a BS in Neuroscience with a minor in Chemistry. She is a research assistant in Dr. Hursting’s lab at the Gillings School of Public Health and is helping to research the connection between obesity and colon cancer. She hopes to attend graduate school and pursue a research-based career in the future. In her free time, she enjoys doing bhangra (an Indian style of dance) and playing her violin or guitar.

Ashlee is a medical student at UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine and is pursuing a scholarly concentration in nutrition. She recently joined Dr. Hursting's lab to study obesity-cancer associations and how these translate to a clinical setting. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and creating recipes for her food blog, running, road biking, traveling to new places and cheering on the Tar Heels! Ashlee is from Lenoir, NC and completed her BS in Biology at UNC Chapel Hill.