Author Archives: Joy Holster

About Joy Holster

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‘A Rising Star’

Five-Year Achievement Award, 2012-13

Baohong Zhang

Associate Professor,
Department of Biology
Thomas Harriot College of Arts & Sciences

Zhang honored for excellence in research

By Doug Boyd
ECU News Services

Baohong Zhang, a molecular biologist and associate professor of biology, received a 2013 Five-Year Achievement Award from the ECU Division of Research and Graduate Studies. His research focuses on three related fields: molecular genetics, toxicology and biotechnology.

In his lab in the ECU Science and Technology Building, Zhang uses model species such as the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and crops such as cotton, soybeans and corn to study microRNA-mediated gene regulation and its function in organism growth, development and response to stressors.

MicroRNA, or miRNA, is a small non-coding RNA molecule found in plants and animals that functions in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression; for example, the triggering of developmental pathways, responses to environmental stimuli or adaptation to new food sources.

He has written more than 40 peer-reviewed articles in that field in the past six years, most recently appearing in the Archives of Toxicology and Plant Molecular Biology. He has also published two scientific books since joining ECU: “Transgenic Cotton” and “RNAi and microRNA-Mediated Gene Regulation in Stem Cells.”

Since arriving at ECU, Zhang has been the principal or co-principal investigator on research grants totaling more than $3 million from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense as well as private corporations and organizations.

“Baohong is without question a rising star in the world of computational and molecular biology, particularly in the field of miRNA research,” Dr. Jeffrey McKinnon, chair of the biology department at ECU, said in his award nomination letter of Zhang.

Zhang’s research includes looking at the toxicity and effects of several groups of traditional and emerging pollutants, such as nanomaterials, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, explosives and pesticides for clues that could lead to the development of biomarkers for assessing the exposure and health effects of these substances. Zhang is also investigating the molecular mechanisms of toxicant/toxin-induced cancers and their chemoprevention. One of his research projects is to investigate the role of natural products on human breast cancer treatment.

His work could also lead to the creation of new genetically modified organisms for producing drugs and biofuels, modifying resistance to abiotic and biotic stressors, and improving crop yield and quality as well as looking at the biosafety and risk assessment of genetically modified foods.

Zhang is also part of the ECU Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Initiative. This program uses two new, large shared lab spaces on the fifth floor of the Science and Technology Building that accommodate multiple inter-related research groups. He is one of the major contributors to the Operation Re-Entry North Carolina research program for wounded veterans at ECU.

He is co-editor-in-chief of the World Journal of Experimental Medicine. Since joining ECU, he has served as editor or on the editorial board for 11 international journals. He also serves as an ad hoc reviewer for more than 69 journals and 27 international funding agencies and has served multiple times on grant review panels for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy.

“Baohong’s funding accomplishments have benefited his own productivity but have been even more important to the members of his laboratory, and he is dedicated to the thoughtful training of the next generation of scientists in his field,” McKinnon said.

Zhang has a doctoral degree from Texas Tech University and a bachelor’s degree from Beijing Agricultural University in China.

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‘Out there making a difference’

rulifson5

Lifetime Achievement Award for Research and Creative Activity

Roger Rulifson

Professor, Department of Biology Thomas Harriot College of Arts & Sciences
Senior Scientist, Institute for Coastal Science and Policy

Student influence highlights career

By Justin Boulmay
For ECU News Services

When Roger Rulifson has meetings with members of federal agencies, he doesn’t see strangers anymore. He sees his former students—a testimony of just how far he’s come in 30 years of fisheries research and the difference he’s made.

That’s one of the many reasons that Rulifson, a professor in the Department of Biology and senior scientist for the Institute of Coastal Science and Policy, is this year’s recipient of the 2012-13 Lifetime Achievement for Excellence in Research and Creative Activity Award, one of the most prestigious awards given by East Carolina University. It’s an honor well deserved by someone who is now seeing his former students interview and hire his more current students.

“It’s starting to sink in that I’ve been around a long time and that the work that I do and the students that have been produced by ECU and by my lab are out there making a difference,” Rulifson said. “So I guess this lifetime achievement award is like the crown jewel of that.”

Rulifson received bachelor’s degrees in biology and French from the University of Dubuque in Iowa as well as three degrees from N.C. State University: a master’s. in marine science, a doctorate in marine science and engineering and a postdoctorate in federal management planning with a focus on anadromous fish, which migrate from saltwater to freshwater for spawning. Internationally known for his work in fisheries along the Atlantic, Rulifson came to ECU in 1983 as an adjunct assistant professor in the biology department and an assistant scientist for the Institute for Coastal and Marine Resources.

The author of more than 70 technical and policy reports to fisheries and environmental agencies, Rulifson has secured more than $6.3 million in research funding, including more than $700,000 to tag and investigate striped bass. He has also been heavily engaged in the American Fisheries Society, including serving as president from 2008-10.

Rulifson and his students study migratory patterns and population sizes of species such as striped bass, American and hickory shads and Atlantic sturgeon. He’s also studied and tagged 40,000 spiny dogfish sharks, which have traveled as near as Wilmington and as far as Iceland. His research can have a positive impact on environmental conservation and economic development. If researchers like Rulifson know where species travel, then they can try to ensure that oil and gas developers or the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management don’t build in those areas.

Spiny dogfish sharks are also in demand in Europe and could be put on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora list. If that happens, then the sharks can only be collected and sold by fisheries that have been certified as sustainable. That’s a good economic opportunity for American fishermen and shows why information such as migratory patterns could prove beneficial.

“If that were to happen, it would protect the populations of spiny dogfish in Europe because they’re really overfished, but it would also allow any fishery that was certified as sustainable to sell to Europe,” Rulifson said. “And the United States has the only certified fishery for them.”

Rulifson has also mentored 50 graduate students, who have gone on to work for organizations such as federal agencies and are even starting to hire some of his more current students. He encourages his students to network with potential contacts and guides them in their careers. When one of them gets a job interview, he’ll ask that student questions about what the hiring agency was looking for in their candidates.

“I get all those questions answered and then I put that into my fisheries techniques class and focus on those things that I know state agencies and federal agencies want in a person when they come in to interview,” he said.

Rulifson’s former and current students can’t seem to speak highly enough of his influence. In her letter nominating Rulifson for the award, Jennifer Cudney, a doctoral candidate in coastal resources management, said working in his lab “teaches us how to work successfully with folks from all walks of life, how to understand alternative perspectives, and provides exposure to real-world problems in fisheries management.”

Joshua Murauskas, a senior fish biologist, considers Rulifson a mentor as well as a professor. In his nomination letter, he wrote, “Ask around at the local North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries office, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the editors of the world’s premier fisher publications, or even biologists working in the hub of renewable energy and salmon conservation in the Pacific Northwest: Dr. Rulifson’s mentorship has changed the landscape in natural resource management throughout the country.”

Return to Research & Creative Achievement Week home page.

Clinical trials pave the way for medical advances

Dr. Prashanti Atluri, left, a clinical assistant professor of oncology at ECU’s Brody School of Medicine, speaks with Roper resident Mary Jones during a regular follow-up visit. Jones is involved in a clinical trial at ECU studying the effectiveness of a certain combination of cancer drugs for people who had undergone surgery for pancreatic cancer. (Photos by Cliff Hollis)

By Doug Boyd
ECU News Services

Like many patients at the Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center, Mary Jones drives to Greenville for regular follow-up visits with an oncologist.

But what makes Jones different is that she’s participating in a clinical trial. Her experience, and those of thousands of other patients across the country, could lead to better cancer care for future patients.

Two years ago, Jones visited her primary care physician after feeling nauseous for a couple of days. He quickly referred her to specialists in Greenville. When she arrived at the medical center, she immediately underwent a series of tests that confirmed the worst: A CT scan showed Jones, who was 71 at the time, had a mass on her pancreas, a deadly diagnosis.

East Carolina University surgeon Dr. Timothy Fitzgerald recommended surgery as soon as possible – once Jones’ blocked bile duct opened enough to drain the buildup of digestive fluid. And Jones didn’t hesitate to agree to the operation.

“He told me before surgery it was very, very serious and the high percentage of patients who don’t make it through the surgery,” said Jones, a retired school cafeteria manager from Roper.

Patient Mary Jones and her husband, Lloyd, speak with an ECU physican about her treatment options.

But Fitzgerald added that Jones was in otherwise good health, which increased her chances. “That gave me hope there,” she said.

He also told her of a clinical trial under way at ECU to study the effectiveness of a certain combination of cancer drugs for people who had undergone surgery for pancreatic cancer. Jones agreed to participate.

The Brody School of Medicine at ECU is part of a national multi-center clinical trial investigating chemotherapy strategies for patients with certain kinds of pancreatic cancer. At ECU, the principal investigator is Dr. Clinton Leinweber, a clinical professor of radiation oncology.

Patients with pancreatic cancer that has been surgically removed usually receive chemotherapy plus radiation therapy. In this study, researchers want to see if giving one chemotherapy drug without radiation is equivalent to the same chemotherapy drug with radiation.

They also want to study the potential benefits of adding a second drug to the chemotherapy regimen after surgery. Five months later, if there is no evidence of disease recurrence, in the last phase of the study, patients are randomly assigned to receive an additional cycle of chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy. Jones was assigned to the group that received chemotherapy drugs and radiation.

Physicians at the Brody School of Medicine at ECU develop, conduct and lead clinical trials as a way to provide their patients with the best range of advanced treatment options. ECU spends nearly $2 million annually to conduct the trials, and most of those expenses are recovered from government and non-government sponsors. More than 200 clinical trials are under way at ECU in many areas, including diabetes, cancer, heart disease, obesity and hypertension.

While clinical trials are an essential and irreplaceable last step in establishing new treatment approaches for any disease, they would not be possible without the willingness of patients to participate. They help physicians learn which treatments work better, cause fewer side effects, cost less or have other benefits.

“There’s not a lot of robust data to say which is better,” said Dr. Prashanti Atluri, a clinical assistant professor of oncology at ECU who sees Jones.

“So this is trying to answer the age-old question (of) are two drugs better than one, are chemo and radiation better or is just chemo better.”

She said the incentive for patients to participate in clinical trials such as this one is altruistic: helping those who have the disease in the future.

Jones agreed. “If they learn something from me that can help someone else, I’m glad I’ve done it,” she said. “I feel very, very blessed.”

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Patients have a poor prognosis; for all stages, the one- and five-year relative survival rates are 25 percent and 6 percent, respectively.

More information about cancer clinical trials at ECU is available at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-dhs/ecuphysicians/cancer/ClinicalTrials.cfm.

Jeff Charles returns to broadcast duties

By Doug Boyd
ECU News Services

A good night for East Carolina University’s men’s basketball team was also a special night for longtime radio play-by-play announcer Jeff Charles.

Charles returned to the sideline for the first time Feb. 13 after undergoing surgery for colon cancer late last year. The “Voice of the Pirates” had been absent since Dec. 1.

Jeff Charles
(Photo by Jay Clark)

The basketball team welcomed Charles back with fist bumps before the game, followed by a 74-61 win over the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

He also received a standing ovation during the first media timeout.

“It felt really good to get back in the swing of things,” Charles said the next day. “It feels great to be back doing what I love to do.”

Charles said encouragement from ECU players, fans and alumni has been important.

“They’ve been just great, and all the support has been unbelievable,” Charles said.

He is undergoing chemotherapy treatment and will have follow-up surgery in August, but said he’s cancer-free and doing well. For now, he plans to continue announcing home basketball and baseball games.

“I’ve gotten great care here, and we’re fortunate to have such a great hospital here and such talented people,” he said.

He said he has empathy for others facing cancer.

“The only thing I can say is you just have to take it one day at a time and stay as mentally strong as you can,” he said.

Charles is in his 25th year as ECU’s play-by-play announcer.

Celebrating African-American history at ECU

In honor of African-American history month in February, a number of events have been scheduled at East Carolina University, including the following:

Feb. 21, 7 p.m.
Willis Building Auditorium
Courage to Change: Economic Prosperity
Guest lecturers Kenny Flowers and Ray Rogers

Feb. 23, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
A Red Carpet Affair, Pre-Motown event
East Carolina Heart Institute
Featuring Lynnette Taylor, WITN anchor
African-American Awards of Excellence

Feb. 23, 8 p.m.
Wright Auditorium
“A Tribute to Motown”
Featuring Ronee Martin and Christie Dashiell

Feb. 28, 8:30 – 11 a.m.
Pitt Community College Student Center
Black Male Achievement Community Forum
Dr. Ivory Toldson and Derek Koen

Feb 28, 7 p.m.
Wright Auditorium
Courage to Change: Education for the 21st Century
Beyond the Bricks with Dr. Ivory Toldson

March 5 , 7 p.m.
Hendrix Theatre
Courage to Change: Arts, Culture and Quality of Life
Guest lecturer Dr. Carroll Dashiell

‘A Tribute to Motown’ celebrates Black History Month

The ECU School of Music Jazz Studies Program and the Hilton Greenville will present “A Tribute to Motown Show” as a Black History Month concert celebrating African-Americans’ many contributions to the music world at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23 in Wright Auditorium at ECU.

Admission is $12.50 for the general public, $7.50 for students. For tickets, call 1-800-ECU-ARTS.

The concert features Ronee Martin, blues and jazz vocalist, and Christie Dashiell, Afro Blue-featured vocalist, performing Motown classics including “Respect,” “Dr. Feel Good,” “Dancin’ in the Street,” “Sugar Pie Honey Bunch,” “Kansas City,” “My Girl” and many more. Carroll V. Dashiell Jr. is the concert music director.

Martin has worked with songwriters and producers including Burt Bacharach and Carol Bayer Sagar, and Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. She was featured vocalist for Tom Scott on “One Day/ One Night” and on the compilation “Sensation” with Joe Sample, Tom Scott and Hubert Laws, and she has sung background for Elton John, Seal, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.

Christie Dashiell has appeared in concert performances with Smokey Robinson, Fred Hammond, Boney James, Geri Allen, Vanessa Rubin, Nnenna Freelon, Carmen Lundy, Mary Stallings and the Smithsonian Masterworks Jazz Orchestra. She is a recipient of the Down Beat Magazine 2008 and 2010 Outstanding Soloist Award, winning in the jazz vocal category and as soloist with Afro Blue, winning the 2011 Best College Graduate Jazz Vocalist Award.

Martin and Dashiell will be assisted by Bill Ford, special guest piano/synthesizers; Jon Ozment, special guest piano/synthesizers; Carroll V. Dashiell Jr., music director, bass; Jeff Bair, Jeremiah Miller and Vaughn Ambrose, saxophones; Carroll V. Dashiell III, drums; Joe Phillips, guitar; Joey Stultz, ethnic percussion; Karen Peele, trombone; Steve Peckous, tenor sax; and James Old, trumpet. Background vocals are by “3 D”: Cameron Dashiell, Rochelle Rice, Alden Quick and Marvin Thorne.

Prior to the concert, ECU’s Organization of African-American Staff will host “A Red Carpet Affair,” celebrating Black History Month and the value of African-American employees and students.

The two-hour event includes a dinner banquet and the inaugural presentation of the new ECU African-American Awards of Excellence. Lynnette Taylor, anchor for WITN News at 6 p.m., will give a keynote address.

Festivities begin at 4:30 p.m. at the East Carolina Heart Institute. Package tickets are available for people interested in attending both the banquet and Motown concert, priced at $23 for students and $35 for faculty, staff and the public. After Feb. 18, package prices increase to $28 for ECU students and $40 for faculty, staff, and the public.

ECU professor interviewed from ‘bottom of the earth’

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In a video conference from the “bottom of the earth,” ECU researcher Reide Corbett said that Palmer Station in western Antarctica feels like “the top of the world.” Corbett is leading a team of scientists in Antarctica studying how the flow of fresh groundwater from the continent delivers nutrients into the coastal ocean.

The three-year project is funded by a $530,000 grant from the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs.

Corbett

Developed by the UNC Coastal Studies Institute, the video included a question and answer session with students from Manteo and Columbia high schools in eastern North Carolina.

Corbett, a professor in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Department of Geological Sciences, a research scientist at the ECU Institute for Coastal Science and Policy and co-program head for coastal processes at the UNC Coastal Studies Institute, has studied submarine groundwater discharge throughout his academic career.

For additional details on Corbett’s research, visit http://blog.ecu.edu/sites/newblog/blog/2012/12/03/ecu-researcher-leads-team-of-scientists-to-antarctica/.

ECU alumna named new Raleigh police chief

East Carolina University graduate and acting interim chief Cassandra Deck-Brown was chosen as police chief for Raleigh on Jan. 31. She is the first African-American woman to head the department and the first chief chosen from within the department since 1994.

Deck-Brown

That year, Deck-Brown’s brother-in-law, Mitchell Brown, was promoted to chief and served nearly seven years.

Deck-Brown has been with the Raleigh Police Department since 1987 and worked her way up to deputy chief. She was selected for the position following a national search.

She grew up in Franklin County but spent summers with her mother’s relatives in Philadelphia, where she saw a female police officer on the street one day. The sight of a woman in uniform and in control inspired her, she said in 2006.

Deck-Brown graduated from East Carolina University with a degree in criminal justice, then entered the police academy and the Raleigh Police Department in 1987. She worked as a patrol officer, a crime prevention-community relations officer and a detective, before earning a master’s degree in public administration from N.C. State University in 1995.

Promoted to captain in 2003, she became commander of what is now the North District. She later headed the department’s Administrative Services Division and was promoted to deputy chief last summer.

ECU grad shares deception detection on CBS

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The hosts of CBS This Morning interview Phil Houston on the recent release of Spy the Lie: Former CIA Officers Teach You How to Detect Deception.

ECU political science graduate and former Central Intelligence Agency expert Philip Houston, co-author of “Spy the Lie: Former CIA Officers Teach You How to Detect Deception,” appeared on the CBS morning news show Jan. 18. Houston spoke on methods to detect deception and how to elicit more truthful answers.

Houston, of Greenville, is chief executive officer of Qverity, a provider of behavioral analysis and screening services for a worldwide clientele. According to Qverity’s web site, Houston is a national expert on deception detection, critical interviewing and elicitation who is credited with developing a deception detection method that is now used throughout U.S. intelligence and law enforcement communities. Read more about Houston at http://www.qverity.com./about/.

ECU holds second Empty Bowls event

At ECU’s Empty Bowls event, art education professor Nanyoung Kim selects a handmade bowl. More than 450 bowls were available for participants. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)

ECU News Services

Members of the East Carolina University community joined in the second annual Empty Bowls event on campus Feb. 7.

Empty Bowls is an international grassroots effort to raise money while reminding participants of all the empty bowls in the world. Guests purchase tickets for a meal of soup and bread, along with a handmade bowl. At ECU, the bowls were donated by the ECU Ceramics Guild.

“Empty Bowls is a wonderfully unique fundraiser that gives our community a chance to come together and help those in need,” said Sara Kurtz, president of the ECU Ceramics Guild. “Service is a big part of the mission of the Ceramics Guild and we are thrilled to be a part of this event.”

All funds were donated to the Greenville Food Bank to combat hunger in the community. Mary Esther Baker, development officer for the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, said the organization was grateful for fundraisers like Empty Bowls, which “create awareness of hunger in the community and raise funds to support our mission: ‘No one goes hungry in central & eastern North Carolina.’

“There are more than 100,000 of our neighbors in eastern North Carolina for whom food insecurity is a daily reality,” Baker said.

The event was sponsored by ECU Campus Living and Dining and the ECU Ceramics Guild. Local sponsors included Peasant’s Pub, Starlight Café, The Scullery, Winslow’s, The Tipsy Teapot, Starbucks, UBE, La Bendicion bakery and ARAMARK.