THE STORY COLLIDER PRESENTS: STORIES FROM Genetics and Genomics Academy
The Story Collider is thrilled to be teaming up with North Carolina State University Genetics and Genomics Academy to bring you five true, personal stories about science!
Hosted by Kellie Vinal and Jitesh Jaggi.
Stories by:
Modesta N Abugu is a PhD candidate in the department of horticultural sciences, North Carolina State University and an AgbioFEWS fellow of the Genetic Engineering and Society Center and National Science Foundation. Her research seeks to investigate the genetic mechanisms of flavor in sweetpotatoes to guide breeders in developing high quality varieties. Modesta is also passionate about communicating science to the public, especially on the potential of agricultural biotechnology tools in promoting food security. She has also been widely involved in grassroots campaigns geared towards creating an enabling policy environment for farmers to gain access to new agricultural innovations in Nigeria and the US. Through her awareness and advocacy efforts, she contributed to the passage of Nigeria's biosafety bill into law, and the commercialization of Bt cowpea in Nigeria. Modesta obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from the University of Nigeria in Nsukka, Nigeria, and an MSc in horticultural science from the University of Florida. Outside of work, she loves to hike and visit new places.
Fred Gould graduated from Jamaica HS in NYC and received his BS in biology from Queens College of the City University of New York. He went on to a PhD program in ecology and evolutionary biology at the State University of NY at Stony Brook. He moved to North Carolina for a postdoc and then a job on the faculty of NC State University. Gould is now the executive director of the NC State Genetics and Genomics Academy and is co-director of the Genetic Engineering and Society Center. He conducts research on the application of evolutionary biology and population genetics to enable sustainable use of insect resistant crops and genetically engineered agricultural pests. He also does research aimed at development of strategies for engineering insect vectors of human pathogens to decrease disease. Most of Gould’s current teaching focuses on technical and societal issues related to genomics and genetic engineering. He also teaches lectures within a course on Darwinism and Christianity. Gould is a fellow of the Entomological Society of America and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2011, he was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
Bethany Mostert: I began loving nature at a young age. I was raised in Southern Ontario (Canada), but a big part of my childhood was spent going on canoe trips and wilderness camping with my dad and siblings up north. I was a huge plant nerd even then and would obsessively bring my pocket plant identification book with me on every trip and hike. My book was full of Canadian Indigenous medicinal uses for wild plants and this culminated into a love of plant compounds, which is where I find myself today as a medicinal plant scientist. Beyond how my medicinal plant learning brought me to my research, it also instilled a desire to expand my scientific worldview outside of a Western understanding. Learning and sharing more about how plant medicine is and should be a realm of community care and generational knowledge. This is something I love to share through writing blog posts, making podcasts and speaking to anyone who will listen!
Chris Halweg is a geneticist with 15+ years of teaching experience. A’s, T’s, G’s, and C’s are more than mere letters, and he strives to connect students to their beauty and chaos in our lives. From his small town beginnings where scientists were only seen on TV to forging his way to become one, he enjoys sharing his science journey with students.
Martha Burford Reiskind: I started my undergraduate career as a theater arts and music major at a small liberal arts school in Bronxville Ny, Sarah Lawrence College. At the time there were only 1,200 students and it had only recently become a coed school. After several years in what I like to call my Liberal Arts Tour, I finished up my undergraduate work at University of California Berkely, in Integrative Sciences. I started my Faculty Position at NC State in 2012 and conduct research in conservation genetics and teach courses, population genetics, conservation science, science communication and science ethics. I’m also a sister, daughter, wife, auntie, and mother and love those roles as much as the research and teaching I do. I direct a first-year graduate training program here at NC State, the Genetics & Genomics Scholars program, and graduate training and education is one of my passions. I seek out opportunities to combine the arts and sciences and help my students develop effective science communication, both visual and oral. You can find me near or in the water or with my hands in soil or dough.