Congratulations graduating trainees!
Congratulations to all our 2024 UNC SRP graduates! We were fortunate to have 11 wonderful SRP trainees earn their Bachelor, Master, and PhD degrees this past year. We will miss them but are excited for them to continue their great work in public health and environmental sciences. We are especially excited to welcome recent graduate, Celeste Carberry as UNC SRP’s new Program Manager!
All our graduates were given the opportunity to share a little bit more about their experiences. You can find highlights from the graduates that responded, below.
Fatai Balogun

Fatai Balogun, PhD
What degree did you earn?
PhD in Earth Sciences with a focus in Soil biogeochemistry
What lab did you work in?
Soil and Water Lab, University of Oregon, Project 4
How would you describe your research in 1-2 sentences?
Geochemical variability in sediments and saprolites makes It difficult to predict chromium and vanadium contamination of well water. My research employed spectroscopic and wet chemistry techniques to develop a mechanistic understanding of processes that facilitate chromium and vanadium mobility in these earth materials.
What was your proudest accomplishment during your time as a trainee?
I had struggled to complete my first project due to some analytical challenges in addition to the pandemic. Publishing the result of that study as the first author in a reputable journal was my proudest moment. It was a sweet feeling to get some reward for my tenacity and years of hard work after many failures.
What has being an SRP trainee meant to you?
Coming from West Africa, I had always harbored the hope and aspirations that I would conduct research work with state-of-the-art equipment. The finances provided by the SRP allowed me to conduct research work at the Stanford Synchrotron, which was very mind-blowing. This exposure allowed me to widen my network and thought process, setting me up for success in grad school and no doubt for later in life. Overall, being a minority student, the SRP trainee program opened numerous doors for me both in my academic and personal life. Being an SRP trainee has been a blessing on all fronts!
What do you plan/hope to do after graduating?
I’m currently an environmental fate post-doctoral fellow in the Regulatory and Stewardship sub-function of one of the top five agricultural companies in the world. My long-term goal is to be an environmental scientist in the Environmental Protection Agency.
Is there anything else you want to share?
I’d like to thank my wonderful advisor and all members of the UNC P4 group for their support on the projects we collaborated on.
Celeste Carberry

Celeste Carberry, PhD
What degree did you earn?
PhD in Environmental Sciences and Engineering
What lab did you work in?
I received training under Dr. Julia Rager, DMAC
How would you describe your research in 1-2 sentences?
My research focused on investigating the toxicological effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) relevant to the North Carolina Triangle Region. Specifically, I used in vitro methods to evaluate the mechanisms of PFAS toxicity in liver cells.
What was your proudest accomplishment during your time as a trainee?
The most rewarding aspect of my graduate career was mentoring undergraduate students through summer training programs, helping inspire them and develop their research skills.
What has being an SRP trainee meant to you?
Being an SRP trainee has meant having an invaluable network of support, both personally and scientifically, which was instrumental to my success.
What do you plan/hope to do after graduating?
I hope to leverage the scientific knowledge and mentoring experience gained through UNC-SRP to address larger, more complex environmental issues.
Is there anything else you want to share?
I am truly grateful for the opportunities provided by UNC-SRP throughout my graduate career, and look forward to continue working with UNC-SRP following graduation
Anastasia Freedman

Anastasia Freedman, PhD
What degree did you earn?
PhD in Environmental Sciences and Engineering
What lab did you work in?
The Fry lab (PI: Rebecca Fry), Project 1
How would you describe your research in 1-2 sentences?
The aim of my research was to evaluate the transcriptomic and proteomic impacts of single metal and metal mixture exposures. My research leveraged both in vitro cell culture and epidemiological-based methods.
What was your proudest accomplishment during your time as a trainee?
Successfully defending my dissertation!!
What has being an SRP trainee meant to you?
Being an SRP trainee has given me opportunities to learn about how our research applies toward the larger public health landscape.
What do you plan/hope to do after graduating?
After graduating I started working as a Senior Toxicologist at ICF!
Is there anything else you want to share?
I’m thankful for the opportunity to have been an SRP trainee. I’m especially grateful for being given the opportunity to go to the SRP conference last year in New Mexico, and taking an opportunity to a Superfund site and chat with scientists from other institutions, as well as locals in the community of the Site.
Andrew Jotcham

Andrew Jotcham, BSPH
What degree did you earn?
I graduated with a Bachelor’s of Public Health in the Environmental Health and Engineering major.
What lab did you work in?
I worked in Dr. Cass T. Miller’s lab and with Dr. Timothy Weigand, Project 5
How would you describe your research in 1-2 sentences?
My research consisted of a computational analysis of polyamide reverse osmosis membranes. This allowed us to analyze RO membrane’s morphology and topology which in turn can affect membrane performance.
What was your proudest accomplishment during your time as a trainee?
My proudest accomplishment was completing my Honors Thesis as well as increasing my skills as a programmer and developer.
What has being an SRP trainee meant to you?
Being an SRP trainee meant a lot to me academically and professionally as it gave me a pathway to being involved in important research at a relatively early stage in my academic career (I started in Dr. Miller’s lab as a Junior at UNC).
What do you plan/hope to do after graduating?
I’m actually staying in Dr. Miller’s lab at UNC and now working as a graduate research assistant and pursuing a Masters in Environmental Engineering.
Is there anything else you want to share?
I’m incredibly thankful to Dr. Cass T. Miller, Dr. Timothy Weigand, Dr. Orlando Coronell, and Dr. Riely Vickers for helping develop my skills as a researcher over the past year and a half.
Chelsea Obeidy

Chelsea Obeidy, PhD
What degree did you earn?
PhD in Earth Science
What lab did you work in?
Soil and Water Lab at University of Oregon, Project 4
How would you describe your research in 1-2 sentences?
I investigate how landscape evolution and disturbances such as wildfire influence soil and water contamination in Oregon.
What was your proudest accomplishment during your time as a trainee?
Getting a job!
What has being an SRP trainee meant to you?
I will always cherish my time as a trainee! I love conducting research and I had a wonderful group of people to work with.
What do you plan/hope to do after graduating?
This fall I start as an assistant professor of soil science in the Dept. of Forestry, Fire, and Rangeland Management at Cal Poly Humboldt!
Is there anything else you want to share?
My PIs were awesome, and I really appreciated the time I spent working with everyone!
Other recent graduates:
Rishi Aghera, BS, Styblo, Project 2
Eric Brown, Jr., PhD, Fry, Project 1
Yun-Chung Hsiao, PhD, Lu, Project 3
Hannah Peel, PhD, Duckworth, Project 4
Jingya Peng, MSPH, Lu, Project 3
Navkaran Singh, BS, Styblo, Project 2
By: Chase Bergeson, UNC SRP Research Translation Associate