When a research project centered on evolution within spadefoot toads fell through, Emily Harmon shifted her focus to microscopic swimmers called rotifers. The biology PhD student is studying an animal’s ability to adapt in one generation, which could inform conservation efforts in the face of climate change.
Sikoya Ashburn is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. She uses neuroimaging to understand how the cerebellum affects higher cognitive functions and neurodevelopmental disorders, like ADHD, in children.
Upon discovering a series of political cartoons mocking artists in 18th– and 19th-century France in 2010, UNC-Chapel Hill art historian Kathryn Desplanque couldn’t stop searching for them. Now, she has amassed more than 500 and is using them to redefine how we think about art and the artist in modern-day society.
UNC–Chapel Hill prides itself on the abundance of opportunities available to undergraduate researchers. Even so, it can be daunting for students to make that first step into hands-on research. Autumn Tucker, a senior majoring in neuroscience, talks about working in the Leon Coleman Lab and how that has shaped her education and growth as a researcher.