research NEWS
Biosciences Ph.D. Program Enters Second Year North Carolina Central University welcomed a second class of integrated biosciences doctoral students in August 2013. The four students join the six students who enrolled in the Ph.D. program in 2012. Much like their predecessors, they have a personal commitment to tackling health disparities. Here are their stories: TIMOTHY ADEKOYA
MAYANGA KAPITA
QUANTIL MELENDEZ
w TIMOTHY ADEKOYA Born in Nigeria, Adekoya came to the United States just a few years ago to continue his education, with the intention of pursuing a doctorate. He sought an atmosphere that would allow him to explore his area of interest, metabolic disorders, while also making him feel welcome. “When I came for the interview and saw the facilities and the research labs, I decided I had to come here,” Adekoya said. Doctorate students at NCCU have access to nearly 150,000 square feet of state-of-theart science space at the Julius L. Chambers Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute (BBRI) and the Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE), as well as equipment and facilities on other campuses and locations. w MAYANGA (CAMILLE) KAPITA Kapita has spent a great deal of time in research labs as a student and a researcher, but he says when he came to NCCU he was impressed with the program and the faculty. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2001, Camille, as he is called, came to the United States as part of an exchange program at the University of Cincinnati. Since then he has worked in the Department of Genetics labs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Working in a lab has changed my life,” Kapita said. “My work is not just about scientific pursuit, but understanding the nature of diseases in order to change other people’s lives.”
ANTONIO WALKER
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w QUANTIL MELENDEZ Melendez walked into her first doctorate classroom just five days after the birth of her daughter. A graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, she took a year off from school before beginning the doctorate program. She was originally scheduled to begin the program in 2012. Melendez has already decided to pursue the pharmaceutical sciences track. “I am excited by the innovation of pharmacy and biology,” she said. “This program lines up perfectly with my interests.” Melendez spent seven years as a lead pharmacy technician at CVS and has also worked as a DNA, paternity bone marrow transplant technician at LabCorp. This program will allow her to merge her biology educational background with her retail pharmaceutical experience to develop a therapeutic drug for pediatric infectious diseases. w ANTONIO WALKER Walker is a biomedical chemical engineer who has always had an interest in health disparities research. A graduate of North Carolina State University and Virginia Commonwealth University, Walker took a leave of absence from his job at NovaTarg Therapeutics to pursue a doctorate. Making the move from engineering to pharmaceutical sciences required him to complete a year in the BRITE master’s program before starting on his Ph.D. “There are several large universities in the area, but they don’t often focus on minorities,” said Walker. “Having family members impacted by these diseases makes this opportunity personal for me.”
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