Research UNCovered


Research UNCovered is a biweekly series showcasing the many faces of research at Carolina, from undergraduate students to faculty, across all disciplines. Every other Wednesday, learn what inspired our researchers to pursue their field, how they’ve overcome obstacles, and a little about their lives beyond their labs and offices.

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Nilu Goonetilleke

July 8, 2020

Nilu Goonetilleke is an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology within the UNC School of Medicine. She studies the immune cell response to several major human infections, like HIV, and develops strategies to limit the causes and spread of disease.

Seth Noar

June 24, 2020

Seth Noar is a professor within the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media and a researcher at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. He studies how people can effectively use communication to change behavior and improve health.

Emily Hynes

June 10, 2020

Emily Hynes is a PhD student in the Department of Music within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. She studies women who made music within prisons of the American South from the 1930s to '40s and creates interactive digital maps to convey this information.

Aaron Anselmo

May 20, 2020

Aaron Anselmo is an assistant professor in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. He develops new strategies and technologies that alter the microbiome by removing pathogens and increasing beneficial bacteria.

Rachel Despard

May 6, 2020

Rachel Despard is a senior majoring in music with minors in public policy and social and economic justice within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. She studies how recorded music boosts community collaboration, affects visibility for vulnerable populations, and addresses systematic inequalities.

Chloe Scattergood

April 22, 2020

Chloe Scattergood is a senior majoring in archaeology and minoring in art history and geological sciences within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. She has spent the past two summers uncovering artifacts in Huqoq, Israel, and plans to pursue a master's degree focused on colonial-era ceramics from the American East Coast.

Han Guo

April 8, 2020

Han Guo is a senior double-majoring in computer science and statistics and analytics within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. He researches how to build language technologies like automated image captioning.

De’Ivyion Drew

March 25, 2020

De’Ivyion Drew is a sophomore double-majoring in studio art and in African, African American, and diaspora studies within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. She is also a part-time student at Duke University, studying African American and black studies. She uses brass, ivory, copper, and stone to create sculptures that mimic representations of African royalty and serve as a positive commentary on present-day black culture.

Benjamin Frey

March 11, 2020

Benjamin Frey is an assistant professor in the Department of American Studies and adjunct professor in the Department of Linguistics within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. He studies the Cherokee language, now endangered, in order to recover the social networks, spaces, domains, and means of transference that once allowed it to thrive.

Emma York Marzolf

March 4, 2020

Emma Marzolf is a conservation grower at the North Carolina Botanical Garden. She collects native seeds from wild plant populations across North Carolina and then grows and stores them for future seed restoration efforts.