![]() ![]() ![]() In the CURE, Koerner and Young worked with students to study the impacts of climate change on the dominant understory grasses that are vital to the restoration and conservation of the Longleaf Pine ecosystem. Alyssa has been instrumental in maintaining this curriculum for ten semesters.” Growing Support and Recognition “To date, over 1300 students have participated in our CURE doing authentic research in Longleaf Pine savannas. “The CURE’s classroom setting provides opportunities to so many more students,” explains Dr. It not only helps students understand the material, but often sparks a love of research for those with curious minds like Young. Exposing undergraduates to research is a priority in UNCG’s biology department and a passion for Koerner. She also helped Koerner to initiate a CURE – course-based undergraduate research experience – where a lab’s research is incorporated into introductory courses for undergraduates.ĬURE curriculum helps to staff research projects while also giving underclassmen hands-on learning in the lab. Throughout Young’s master’s studies, she served as a teacher’s assistant for the Department of Biology and taught introductory biology courses and the Ecology and Evolution Lab. We were ideally suited to work together, and Alyssa has been a superstar mentee as we have co-developed our research program in Longleaf Pine savannas over the last five years!” Alyssa Young studies grasses with Dr. “During that trip, I realized she had a great aptitude to work on global change community ecology, and we hit the ground running after that. “I took Alyssa with me to do field work in South Africa,” Dr. Sally Koerner, who was studying the effects of grazing and climate change on grasslands. She rotated into different biology labs and made a special connection with her advisor, Dr. The biology department feels like home to me.”Īs Young began classes for her master’s of science in biology at UNCG, all things ecology seemed to match with Young’s love for the outdoors. “I feel like my journey so far has kind of been by happenstance, but UNCG has always given me space to explore. “I missed the curiosity and brain power I used in school, so I applied to graduate school and began considering research specialties,” Young recalls. Young began a job at LabCorp after graduation, but quickly decided that this career path didn’t fit with her passions. She graduated with a bachelor’s of science in biology and a minor in chemistry in 2014. Young’s educational journey reads like a love letter to science and UNCG. “And now, in the context of climate change, we must move to actively find ways to restore it and plan for future environmental effects.” A Path of Discovery “European colonization, fire suppression – just basic human interaction – has destroyed much of the ecosystem and what’s left is in poor condition,” Young says. Researching how to restore the Longleaf Pine means protecting all the plant and animal species that grow in the understory, or forest floor, of its ecosystem, as well as the tree and its canopy. The richness of the Longleaf Pine ecosystem is what drew settlers to build communities in our state, but human interaction, along with climate change, is now destroying it. “Furthermore, it’s one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, just below a tropical rain forest.” “The Longleaf’s ecosystem is so important because it used to cover around 92 million acres of the United States in the southeast states,” Young explains. Saving the North Carolina state tree may seem like an honorable effort, but Young explains how her doctoral research extends beyond the pine itself. Now, Young finds herself in her fourth year of doctoral studies as she pursues research to restore the ecosystem of the Longleaf Pine, her home state’s tree. She finished high school just a mile down Josephine Boyd Street from the UNC Greensboro (UNCG) campus. Alyssa Young `14, `19 M.S. grew up right here in Guilford County. ![]()
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