women in science

Sarah Schmitt

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

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.

Sharonda LeBlanc

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.

Folami Ideraabdullah

Folami Ideraabdullah is an assistant professor in the Department of Genetics in the UNC School of Medicine and a researcher at the Nutrition Research Institute in Kannapolis. Her research looks at the genetic differences between individuals to determine how the cells in the body respond to changes in diet.

Francesca Peay

Junior Francesca Peay is an undergraduate researcher majoring in environmental studies with a minor in marine sciences. She works in the Coastal Environmental Change Lab, and her research looks at how dune height affects beachfront before and after storm events.

Emily Jennings

Senior Emily Jennings is an undergraduate researcher in the Kieber Lab at UNC-Chapel Hill. A biology major, her research focuses on the communication, production, and function of plant hormones. Jennings specifically studies how hormones affect rice in aims to increase food production.

Cynthia Bulik

Cynthia Bulik is the Jordan Distinguished Professor of Eating Disorders in the Department of Psychiatry, a professor in the Department of Nutrition, and director of the UNC Eating Disorders Program. A clinical psychologist, her research includes treatment, laboratory, epidemiological, twin, and genetic studies of eating disorders and weight regulation.

Madelyn Percy

Madelyn Percy is a PhD candidate in the Department of Geological Sciences. She is a recipient of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program and a Royster Fellow. Her research focuses on how rocks weather and soils develop across microclimates in the Galápagos Islands.

Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson

Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson is an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering in the Gillings School of Global Public Health. Her research seeks to illuminate what individuals, communities, and policymakers can do to make the biggest and most lasting advancements in public health by improving the quality of the environment.