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Meet the Staff
Select a link below to meet our Administration Support Staff, Faculty and Researchers:
Faculty and Research Teams
Administrative Support Staff
Leadership
Steven H. Zeisel, M.D., Ph.D.
Institute Director (more)
Dr. Zeisel is recognized as an international leader in nutrition research. His team's work established the requirement for choline, a newly recognized essential part of our diet. His work on nutrition and brain development, genetic variation and diet requirements, environment and nutrition, and medical education are supported by grants from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Zeisel directs one of the NIH national centers of excellence in human nutrition research. (more)
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Jana Harrison
Institute Deputy Director
Ms. Harrison is an experienced research administrator. Prior to joining the Nutrition Research Institute, she was the Senior Associate Director of the Urban Institute at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and was responsible for oversight and management of daily Institute operations. Ms. Harrison earned an M.A. and A.B.D. degree in International Political Economy from the University of Southern California. (more)
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Faculty and Research Teams
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Lauren Butler
Research Assistant, Sharma Team
Lauren Butler is a Research Assistant for Dr. Sharma. Most recently she is helping with data and reports on the diets of ethnically diverse populations. Lauren is passionate about global disease prevention through nutrition and is dedicated to working in international nutrition. Lauren graduated from Florida International University with a Bachelors degree in Dietetics and Nutrition in 2007. Born and raised in Florida, she now resides in Charlotte, NC with her fiancé.
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Carol Cheatham, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Psychology
Dr. Carol Cheatham is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, she earned her Ph.D. in child psychology and neuroscience in 2004. She will be part of the Institute's brain research team. In addition to her appointment with the NRI, Cheatham will also hold an appointment as assistant professor in UNC's department of psychology. She has published research on memory recall in pre-term infants, the role of fatty acids in neonatal brains and how stress impacts brain development, as well as other topics. (more)
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Alyssa Gulledge, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Dr. Alyssa Gulledge came to the NRI from the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where she focused her research in genetic regulation in liver cells. Her research targets omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) and their influence on the stem cells that form the human brains.
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Zhong Guo, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Dr. Zhong Guo is an expert in research methods, including mass spectrometry, chromatography, and surface-assisted laser desorption ionization. He studied analytical chemistry at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and is now working at the forefront of developing the field of metabolomics.
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Beth Hopping
Research Assistant, Sharma Team
Beth Hopping is a research assistant for Dr. Sharma. She recently graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a B.S. in Food Science and Human Nutrition. At the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, Beth worked on research investigating ethnic differences in the etiology of diabetes, as well as a study exploring the potential role of soy in breast health.
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Daniel Lupu, M.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Dr. Daniel Lupu studied medicine in Romania and is developing his interest in the relationship between prenatal environmental cues (especially nutrition) and fetal brain development—specifically, the epigenetic imprinting that takes place in utero. His lab skills include histological assessment, nucleotide sequencing, PCR and RT-PCR, and protein labeling.
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Yvette Mayfield
Research Data Entry
Yvette Mayfield is the Data Entry Specialist with Dr. Sharma's Research Group. She holds a B.S. degree in accounting from NC State University. She has over 10 years experience in the accounting field and in data entry. She resides in Mooresville with her husband and 3 daughters.
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Erin Mead
Project Manager, Sharma Team
Erin Mead is the project manager overseeing Dr. Sharma’s research projects. She began conducting health and nutrition research in 2002, and in 2009 finished her master of health science from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Department of International Health, Social & Behavioral Interventions. Her current research has taken her to several locations around the world, including the Arctic and Cameroon. She lives in Kannapolis.
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Mihai George Mehedint, M.D.
Research Associate/Laboratory Manager
Dr. Mehedint studied the impact of maternal choline deficiency on fetal brain development and vision while a postdoctoral fellow at UNC-Chapel Hill. At the NRI, he will study epigenetics and nutrition and how controlling gene expression through diet can potentially allow people to improve health and fight genetic diseases by choosing or avoiding certain foods. He earned a degree in medicine at Transilvania University School of Medicine and completed his residency in Brasov, Romania.
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Mihai Niculescu, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Nutrition
Dr. Niculescu obtained his M.D. degree from Carol Davila University of Medicine in Bucharest, Romania in 1995. He practiced medicine in Romania and was an assistant professor of Physiology at Transylvania University in Brasov, Romania from 1996 to 2000. In 2005 he obtained his Ph.D. in Nutritional Biochemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research focused on choline and brain development, and he has written numerous articles in this area. His current work studies how high-fat diets alter gene expression. (more)
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Jennifer Ruehl
Research Assistant
Jennifer Ruehl is a Research Assistant in Dr. Sharma’s group. Originally from Ohio, she graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s Coordinated Program with a Bachelor’s degree in Dietetics. Her work with Dr. Sharma includes analyzing dietary adequacy of international populations and related risk factors of chronic disease. Beginning in the fall 2009, she will be pursuing a Master’s of Public Health in nutrition at UNC-Chapel Hill.
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Sangita Sharma, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Nutrition
Dr. Sangita Sharma is a gifted researcher and scholar. She is an expert in the relationship between nutrition, ethnicity, and disease, focusing on why different ethnic groups have different risk factors and rates of chronic disease. Her research requires careful nutrition assessment, and she has developed special methods to evaluate the nutritional intake of previously unstudied populations. (more)
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Samantha Stikeleather
Research Associate
Samantha Ritchie is a native of the Kannapolis area & grew up on a farm about 8 miles from the NCRC. She graduated cum laude with departmental honors, from UNCC in 2003 and then earned her MS degree in Biology from UNCC in 2007 where she studied pathogenic molecular microbiology and host/pathogen interaction. She has worked at the National Institutes of Health and taught biology at the high school and college level. At the NRI and is currently involved with a project that investigates the role of choline and fetal neural development in the hippocampus and retina.
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Administrative Support Staff
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Liezl Mae Breitwise
Grants Manager
Liezl Mae Breitwise is NRI's Grants Specialist. Some of her duties include grant proposal preparation and submission, post-award administration, budget preparation and reconciliation, and other general office/clerical duties. Liezl lives with her husband in Davidson. Prior to joining the NRI staff, Liezl was a Research Service Analyst at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. She received a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University at Buffalo.
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Brandi Childers
Office Manager/Human Resources Manager
Brandi Childers serves as the office manager for the NRI administration. She has more than eight years experience in administration and community partnership management. Prior to coming to work for the Nutrition Research Institute, Brandi worked in local government. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, she is a native of Kannapolis, where she has chosen to raise her young family.
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Ryan Dayvault
Facilities and Special Projects Coordinator
Ryan Dayvault joined the NRI in May 2008, where he serves as the Assistant to the Deputy Director and Special Projects Coordinator. A native of Kannapolis and 2008 graduate of Catawba College, Ryan holds a B.A. in Political Science with an emphasis in public administration and a minor in business administration. An avid supporter of the efforts at the North Carolina Research Campus, Ryan has served in various capacities throughout the development of this project while in college and maintaining his residency in Kannapolis.
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Carolyn Harris
Administrative Assistant to the Director
A Kannapolis native, Carolyn Harris is the administrative assistant to Dr. Steven Zeisel, Director of the Nutrition Research Institute. She has over 15 years providing administrative support and office management in the healthcare field with the Department of Defense, as well as in the private sector. She received a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Montreat College.
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Scott Jaworski
Applications Analyst
Scott Jaworski joined the NRI in May 2008, where he serves as the Applications Analyst and IT Consultant. Scott brings years of experience in the University IT field, having worked in the IT Technical Support field both as a student and staff member at UNC Charlotte, where he graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science in 2001.
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Beverly Jordan
Director of Community Outreach
Beverly Jordan joined the Nutrition Research Institute in July 2007 as the Director of Community Outreach. Before coming to NRI, she served as the Director of Government Affairs and Community Relations for Eckerd Youth Alternatives, a large, multi-state nonprofit serving at-risk youth, and as the Executive Director of the Friends of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites, Inc. Beverly earned a B.A in Political Science/History from Brenau Women's College and a M.P.A from North Georgia College and State University.
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