biology

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.

Through a Different Lens

February 17, 2020

How can students strengthen their education by stepping outside their major and trying something new? Two professors — one in studio art and the other in biology — pose this question to undergraduate students in a course combining science and printmaking.

Alecia Septer

October 30, 2019

Alecia Septer is an assistant professor in the Department of Marine Sciences within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. She researches how bacteria compete for space and resources to aid in the development of future treatments for when such microbes cause health problems.

Trapped on the Surface

September 10, 2019

In the past decade, the Cape Fear River has become more susceptible to algal blooms — a potential public health concern for more than 1.5 million people relying on the river as a drinking water source. UNC researcher Nathan Hall thinks droughts and slow flows are the culprit, and aims to predict when future blooms will occur.

Unearthing Environmental Research

July 15, 2019

Environmental education and research have deep roots at Carolina, but a lot has changed since the natural sciences came to campus almost 200 years ago. From the creation of a sanitary engineering department to relationships stoked by the internet, environmental study at UNC has evolved into a hotbed of research, education, and community outreach.

All Hands on Deck

May 13, 2019

Capping off a semester of hard work, students in a biological oceanography class put their lessons to the test during a two-day, hands-on field trip to the Neuse River Estuary and the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City.

In Your Backyard

November 9, 2018

Allison Duprey and Andrew Zachman experience new opportunities through hands-on fieldwork — right here, on UNC’s campus.

Chasing Cephalopod Dreams

October 8, 2018

Jared Richards recalls childhood memories walking through the halls of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. and the awe of all that surrounded him. A summer research internship made it possible for the Carolina undergrad to return and contribute to the world-renowned institution.

The Guava Hunter

September 11, 2017

From the time he was a child, Bryan Reatini has always held an inherent fascination for the natural world. Now, as he pursues his PhD in biology, Reatini has the unique opportunity to collect data from one of the most distinct ecosystems in the world — the Galápagos Islands.

Pranavi Sanka

September 14, 2016

Senior Pranavi Sanka is an undergraduate researcher in the UNC College of Arts & Sciences, majoring in biology and computer science, with a minor in chemistry. Her research focuses on developing new therapies for a subset of breast cancer. After graduation, she plans to attend medical school with the goal to become a primary care physician.