This Is What Science Looks Like at NC State: Terri Long

Editor’s note: This post comes from Terri Long, an assistant professor of plant biology at NC State. The post is part of an ongoing series that we hope will highlight the diversity of researchers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The series is inspired by the This Is What A Scientist Looks Like site.

My name is Terri Long and my lab and I use the tools of molecular biology, biochemistry and systems biology to understand how plants respond to nutrient stress. Our work currently focuses on regulatory mechanisms that control plant stress response, and we have discovered several regulatory proteins that play a key role in these processes.

Why are we excited about this? Nutritional deficiency is a global human health problem. Since most people obtain nutrients, such as iron, predominantly from plants, understanding how plants operate in the face of nutrient deprivation could lead to solutions to global hunger.

My research has enabled me to travel to all but two of the seven continents, and to start my first faculty position in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Illinois in Chicago. However, I am a proud native of North Carolina. I grew up about an hour from NC State in the wonderful town of Louisburg, NC, and attained my undergraduate degree and postdoctoral experience at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University, respectively. I am delighted to now call the NC State Department of Plant and Microbial Biology home.

Here at NC State I love teaching Plant Physiology (PB421) and I have a wonderful team who make my research possible. We are involved in a number of outreach programs and I am particularly excited to mentor students in programs that increase the presence of minorities in science and technology (see page 5 at this link).

On a more personal note I enjoy doing (almost) anything outdoors, gardening, biking, cooking out with my family, and traveling with my husband, Larry. While I don’t have a ton of time for cooking I am always up for trying new and exciting restaurants in the Triangle area. Any suggestions?