Whitney Edwards (she/her), PI
Whitney earned her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where she studied signaling pathways that influence pituitary gland development. She then accepted a SPIRE postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she combined her passion for teaching, mentoring, and research. As a SPIRE Fellow, she worked as a visiting professor at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCA&T), and her research focused on employing proteomic-based approaches to investigate fundamental mechanisms of embryonic heart development.
Gregory Miner (He/Him), Research Associate
Greg is a Research Associate in the Edwards Lab. Greg received degrees in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of Washington at Seattle and his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign .His PhD research focused on protein-lipid interactions and how these interactions are regulated, specifically in the context of vacuolar membrane fusion. During his postdoctoral research he investigated the role of lipid binding proteins in mediating organelle contacts and lipid transfer. One fun fact about Greg is he is a voracious reader; his favorite author currently is Stephen Erikson.
Khalid Tejan-sie (He/Him), Research Technician
Khalid, a Research Technician in the Edwards lab, recently graduated from NC State University with a B.S. in Bioprocessing Sciences. He is currently interested in using R for data analysis and visualization with plans to pursue graduate school in Biostatistics or Epidemiology in the future. In his free time, he enjoys playing video games and spending time with friends and family.
Shenice Harrison (She/Her), BBSP Graduate Program Fall Rotation Student
Shenice is a first-year rotating PhD student. She recently received her MS degree in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. During her master’s program, Shenice specialized in investigating the complex host-pathogen interactions related to the congenital transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi infections. Before pursuing her master’s degree, Shenice was a McNair Scholar and earned her BS degree in Biology and Chemistry from Johnson C. Smith University. During her undergraduate years, she researched the seroprevalence of T. cruzi infections in brown rats in Grenada. In her current role within the lab, Shenice is engaged in unraveling the mysteries of protein myristoylation and its role in cardiac development. Shenice is a multifaceted individual with a love for musical instruments. She has an impressive repertoire, playing five distinct instruments: the alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, tuba, mellophone, and French horn.
Savannah O’Brien (She/Her), Undergraduate Researcher
Savannah, an Undergraduate Researcher in the lab, is a senior at UNC, studying biology and gender studies with a minor in chemistry. She enjoys volunteering as a birth doula and hopes to work in the field of reproductive healthcare as a physician one day. In her free time, she enjoys reading and playing with her very cute dog.