Department of Biology

Transfers and Transitions

Posted on July 20, 2023

The Department of Biology bids a bittersweet farewell to the following faculty and staff:

Dr. David Remington – Dr. Remington retired from UNCG after 21 years of service. He was a Forest Specialist for 18 years prior to earning a doctorate from NCSU in 1999 and working as a postdoctoral research fellow for a few years. Dr. Remington will be Emeritus Faculty starting this fall. He was highly active in our biology undergraduate studies program and plans to focus on research in his retirement, among the many other personal plans.

Dr. Kasie Raymann – Dr. Raymann leaves UNCG to start a faculty position at North Carolina State University, taking many of her students and technicians with her.  Dr. Raymann was heavily involved in our Plant and Pollinator Center opening and operations at UNCG and we thank her kindly for a lasting impact on the Department of Biology and UNCG.

Dr. Louis-Marie Bobay – Dr. Bobay leaves UNCG to start a faculty position at North Carolina State University.  He will take his entire lab crew with him including postdocs and students. Dr. Bobay won the Junior Research Excellence award at UNCG this year and has a highly respected evolutionary genetics and bioinformatics research program.  We thank him for his outstanding teaching and research while at UNCG.

Dr. Ramji Bhandari – Dr. Bhandari leaves UNCG to start a faculty position at University of Missouri, taking along his entire laboratory crew.  Dr. Bhandari studies transgenerational inheritance in the model fish, Medaka.  He has mentored award-winning students, published prolifically, and taught popular courses for our upper-level undergraduates and graduate students.  We thank him for his many contributions to the Department of Biology and UNCG.

Dr. Iglika Pavlova – Dr. Pavlova leaves UNCG for a faculty position at Michigan State University.  Dr. Pavolva has, in a short period of time, been a leader and contributor to revising our introductory biology curriculum and conducting research on the impact of integrating research into the classrooms on student success.  She is part of a team that has now raised the profile of our teaching methods to national recognition.  We wish her the very best in her new career.

Margaret Hood, Senior Lecturer – Margaret leaves UNCG to pursue new and exciting career plans.  Margaret was integral to our undergraduate course offerings at many levels, and especially to Introductory Biology and Human Anatomy Lab management and teaching.  We wish her the very best as she pursues new and exciting avenues.

 Laura Grubbs, Microbiology Research Support Specialist – Laura leaves UNCG for a career in public school education as a chemistry teacher in Guilford County Schools.  Laura won a staff excellence award this year for her outstanding contributions to our microbiology education program and service to the Department of Biology.  We wish her well in her new career.

Heather Hopkins, Research Associate – Heather was a lab manager and research associate in the Raymann Lab. She leaves UNCG with the Raymann Lab to continue her research at NCSU.

Dr. Charles Wahl – Charlie was a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the Terui Lab. He leaves UNCG for Colorado to work as an ecologist with the United States Geological Survey at the Colorado Water Science Center. We wish him the very best in his new career.

Dr. Shota Shibasaki – Shota was a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the Terui Lab. He leaves UNCG to start a new postdoctoral position at the National Institute of Genetics in Japan with Dr. Masato Yamamichi.

Dr. Awa Diop – Awa was a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the Bobay Lab. She leaves UNCG with the Bobay Lab to continue her postdoctoral fellowship at NCSU.

Dr. Hazem Sharaf – Hazem was a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the Bobay Lab. He leaves UNCG with the Bobay Lab to continue his postdoctoral fellowship at NCSU.

Dr. Carolina Martinez Gutierrez – Carolina was a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the Bobay Lab. She leaves UNCG with the Bobay Lab to continue her postdoctoral fellowship at NCSU.

Dr. Mehwish Faheem – Mehwish was a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the Bhandari Lab. She leaves UNCG with the Bhandari Lab to continue her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Missouri.