PHHI Researchers Recognized with Awards

Three faculty and staff with N.C. State University’s Plants for Human Health Institute (PHHI) have been acknowledged for their respective efforts in 2013. The institute, located at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis, is leading the discovery and delivery of plant-based solutions to advance human health.

Dr. Jeremy Pattison (bottom left), assistant professor and strawberry breeder with PHHI, received an honorary state degree by North Carolina Future Farmers of America (FFA) in recognition of his outstanding contributions to local chapters. He was nominated by Rowan County agriculture teachers, with whom Pattison has worked extensively to introduce high school students to current agricultural production practices and cutting-edge industry science. (Read more about the collaboration: Students learn research principles while raising winter tomatoes.)

Dr. Debora Esposito (bottom center), PHHI research specialist in the lab of institute director Dr. Mary Ann Lila, received a Young Investigators Award from Seahorse Biosciences, and was selected to make an oral presentation at the Experimental Biology conference in Boston in April 2013. (Learn more about Esposito’s research and how she received the American Society of Pharmacognosy Research Award: Plant steroids hold promise for increase in muscle mass and physical performance.)

Kamilla Korsvold (bottom right), an undergraduate student in Dr. Allan Brown’s lab, received a travel grant to support her work. She will present a research poster at the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) Annual Conference in Palm Springs, CA, in July 2013.