Women in Science Wednesdays

While women fill close to half of all jobs in the United States, they hold less than 25 percent of positions within the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Even as college-educated women have increased their share in the overall workforce, our country’s science and technology sectors continue to lack a female presence.

To help close this gap, UNC research is sharing their stories — from the depths of the ocean to the crest of a mountain, with projects that impact our state, the nation, and the world. Carolina’s female scientists from all areas of STEM are making waves in the world of research. Join us each week as our scientists share their unique perspectives on the rigors of research, and advice for other women in their fields.

Stephanie Zerwas

May 4, 2016

Stephanie Zerwas is an assistant professor of psychiatry within the UNC Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders. Her research focuses on genetic risk factors, early screening and detection, and using technology to improve treatment for eating disorders.

Tojan Rahhal

April 27, 2016

Tojan Rahhal is a fourth-year PhD student studying pharmaceutical sciences in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Under the guidance of Joseph DeSimone, her research focuses on the delivery of therapeutics to the lungs. She is also the chair of UNC’s Women in Science group.

Blake Hauser

April 20, 2016

Senior Blake Hauser is double-majoring in environmental health sciences and biology, with a minor in chemistry. In January, she received the Churchill Scholarship, a research-focused award that provides funding to American students for a year of master’s study in science, mathematics, and engineering at the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on the continuum of care for mothers diagnosed with HIV during pregnancy and the implementation of antiretroviral drugs that can help suppress the virus.

Anna Cliffe

April 13, 2016

Anna Cliffe is a postdoctoral research fellow in the UNC Neuroscience Center in the School of Medicine. Her research focuses on the herpes simplex virus (HSV) and the effect stress has on reactivation of the virus.

Kaitlyn Tsai

April 6, 2016

Senior Kaitlyn Tsai is an undergraduate researcher in the College of Arts & Sciences majoring in chemistry with a biochemistry focus and minoring in medical anthropology and biology. Her research involves conducting complex chemical reactions to better understand the chemistry behind biological processes such as cancer. After graduation this May, she will pursue a PhD at the University of California, San Francisco.

Yesenia Merino

March 30, 2016

Yesenia Merino is the outreach coordinator within the Office for Undergraduate Research and a PhD student studying health behavior in the Gillings School of Global Public Health. Her research focuses on social justice issues in public health.

Sarah Schmitt

March 23, 2016

Sarah Schmitt is a PhD student in the Department of Geography atUNC-Chapel Hill. Her research examines the strong coupling between hydrology and ecology in tropical islands. She is funded by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, the Geological Society of America, and National Geographic’s Young Explorers Program.

Jenny Hughes

March 16, 2016

Senior Jenny Hughes is an undergraduate student majoring in environmental science with a minor in marine science. Her research focuses on the effects of hunger on the foraging behavior of mud crabs within the presence of predators that sit higher up in the food chain.

Eliana Perrin

March 2, 2016

Eliana Perrin oversees the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and the Office of Research Development as an associate vice chancellor for research. She is also a tenured professor in the UNC School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics and a nationally known researcher in the area of child health — particularly obesity prevention and treatment.

Sharonda LeBlanc

February 24, 2016

Sharonda LeBlanc is a Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity Scholar, conducting her postdoctoral research with Professor Dorothy Erie in the Chemistry Department at UNC-Chapel Hill. Her current research projects focus on DNA mismatch repair — a system for recognizing and repairing errors that can arise during DNA replication and recombination.