Jennifer Fulton is a PhD student in the Department of Chemistry within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. Her research focuses on developing methods for selectively synthesizing a single, 3D molecule.

Aditi Adhikari is a junior and Morehead Cain Scholar majoring in public policy with a minor in chemistry within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. Her most recent research project focused on increasing discussion about the impact and consequences of machismo, the attitude and acceptance of male superiority, on women’s health in rural Nicaragua.

Nisha Gottfredson is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Behavior within the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and a faculty affiliate within the Center for Developmental Science. Her research focuses on how substance use affects human development. She also studies how statistical models perform and can be used to better capture research questions in the real world.

Just 10 years ago, no one knew how to grow intestinal stem cells outside of the body, preventing scientists from uncovering the mysteries of the gut and the problems surrounding it. But in 2010, that all changed — when Scott Magness’s lab became the first in the United States to grow “mini-guts” inside a petri dish, using them to develop better treatments for human gastrointestinal diseases.

Virginie Papadopoulou specializes in using ultrasound technology to study the body in extreme environments, ranging from the physiology of scuba divers to the blood flow in cancerous tumors. Her weapon of choice? Tiny bubbles.

Juanita Limas is a PhD candidate and HHMI Gilliam Fellow in the Department of Pharmacology within the UNC School of Medicine. Her research focuses on genes with the potential to cause cancer, specifically those that disrupt the cell cycle by affecting mechanisms of DNA replication.

Most theoretical physicists don’t see their predictions confirmed in their lifetimes, as it can take centuries to discover the physical phenomena that mark them true. But that hasn’t been the case for UNC's Laura Mersini-Houghton, who’s seen six of her predictions about the origins of the universe verified in the last decade — a feat that’s grabbed everyone’s attention, from documentary filmmakers to the late Stephen Hawking.

Hannah Kim is a junior double-majoring in psychology and economics, with a minor in social and economic justice, within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. Her research focuses on determining the differences in the prevalence of psychological disorders among different demographics.

Heat-resistant. Cold-weather tough. Outer space savvy. If anything, tardigrades are survivors above all else. But what makes them so resilient? Thomas Boothby strives to figure that out and discover how these microscopic animals can be used to preserve biological samples like blood, human tissue, and vaccines.

Priya Kumar is a professor of anesthesiology in the clinical division of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology within the UNC School of Medicine. Her research focuses on exploring interventions to protect the heart against surgical stress — specifically whether blood pressure management and bleeding reduction can prevent heart complications during non-cardiac surgery.

Margaret Dillon is an associate professor and director of cochlear implant clinical research in the Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery within the UNC School of Medicine. Her research focuses on optimizing how cochlear implants distribute and present speech information and the new patient populations who may benefit from this hearing technology.

Alyssa Grube is a PhD student in the Department of Environmental Sciences & Engineering within the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Her research focuses on detecting antibiotic-resistant genes in the Galápagos Islands to better understand the effects of human-caused pollution on bacterial communities.