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Cultivating Curiosity and the Next Generation of Plant Scientists

Education

Ph.D. candidate Camilo H. Parada Rojas, right, works in the lab with mentor Lina Quesada-Ocampo, Ph.D.

Aug 15, 2022

The Power of Mentorship

Through intentional mentorship, industry training and job preparedness, FFAR Fellow Camilo H. Parada Rojas understands what it takes to get science to the field. 
MarianaPrietoTorres working in lab

Aug 1, 2022

Colombia Native Excited About FFAR Fellowship Opportunity

CALS Ph.D. student Mariana Prieto Torres loves translational science. As a FFAR Fellow and international student, she is excited to learn how to better share her research with growers worldwide. 
PSi scientists in greenhouse

Jun 29, 2022

Long Appointed N.C. PSI Education and Workforce Development Platform Director

Terri Long will join the North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative as the Platform Director for Education and Workforce Development. 
Shana McDowell Headshot

Nov 14, 2021

Exploring New Avenues

Shana McDowell was using data science to fight COVID-19 and HIV. Now she’s fighting hunger and food waste as a Ph.D. student enrolled in the Ag Data Science certificate program. 
Woman near a blueberry bush in a greenhouse

Sep 3, 2021

Redpath Unlocks Doors to Faster Blueberry Breeding

In her doctoral research, Lauren Redpath searches for genetic keys for better blueberries. At the same time, she’s using skills she’s learned at NC State to kickstart her plant improvement career. 
Shelly Hunt standing in a field

Jul 21, 2021

An Uncommon Thread

Hunt recently enrolled in the Ag Data Sciences Certificate program. So far, it’s proving to be the perfect complement to her studies, her field research, and her career goals. 
Roshni Panwala headshot

Jul 12, 2021

Finding a Happy Medium

Roshni Panwala was taking regulatory science courses in agriculture to satisfy electives for her dual major in the political and agricultural sciences. It wasn’t until she took her fourth such class that she learned she was just one course shy from earning the only certificate of its kind in the nation: the Regulatory Science in Agriculture Certificate. The program and its classes were more than an excellent fit for her unique dual major. They were stepping stones to a regulatory science career in the agricultural field. 
Graduate student and regulatory professional Jessica Vigna

Jul 2, 2021

Filling the Blanks in Regulatory Science

Jessica Vigna, a state regulatory manager leading a small team at Adama, is taking elective classes in the graduate-level Regulatory Science in Agriculture certificate program: the first and only program of its kind in the United States. We connected with Vigna for an industry professional’s perspective on the value of these unique regulatory science classes. 
Photo portrait of Dan Jenkins. Head of Regulation Quality at the biotech company, Pairwise

Jun 17, 2021

B-i-g Hiring Edge

Dan Jenkins, head of regulatory and quality for biotech company Pairwise, discusses the vital need for the United States’ only Regulatory Science in Agriculture Certificate program, housed right here at NC State. The program draws on the experience of local regulatory experts to train undergraduate and graduate students in the complexities of regulation. 
Families take part in a pre-pandemic Plant Biology for Kids event.

Jun 16, 2021

Cultivating Curiosity and the Next Generation of Plant Scientists

Colleagues Terri Long and Anna Stepanova are part of a national push to highlight plants’ contributions to our lives and the potential for rewarding careers in plant sciences.