North Carolina Central University (NCCU) has appointed Nikia A. Laurie, Ph.D., as interim director of the Julius L. Chambers Biomedical Biotechnology Research Institute (JLC-BBRI), effective Jan. 1, 2024. She will report directly to Deepak Kumar, Ph.D., associate provost and dean of research and sponsored programs.
The JLC-BBRI is an innovative research and training institute dedicated to the advancement of fundamental knowledge of human diseases, particularly those that disproportionately affect underrepresented minority groups. As interim director, Laurie will serve as the leader of NCCU’s JLC-BBRI research facilities in Durham and Kannapolis, North Carolina (North Carolina Research Campus-NCRC).
Laurie joined NCCU in 2020 as associate director of JLC-BBRI. In this role, she was responsible for evaluating, planning, directing and coordinating research activities related to the mission and function of the JLC-BBRI as a constituent of the university. Laurie also served as interim director of the Doctor of Philosophy in Integrated Biosciences program in the College of Health and Sciences. A cancer biologist by training, she has mentored and trained a diverse group of graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, physician-scientists and undergraduates throughout her career. Laurie’s laboratory currently focuses on obesity and endometrial cancer disparities.
Prior to her NCCU appointment, Laurie served as the director of the Retinoblastoma Center of Excellence and assistant professor at the Stanley Manne Research Institute and Northwestern University School of Medicine. As director, she oversaw fruitful collaborations between faculty members that led to federal, state and private funding awards, as well as publications.
Laurie earned a Bachelor of Science from Xavier University of Louisiana and a Ph.D. in medical science from Brown University. She completed her postdoctoral training at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
