Professor, associate department head, and director of undergraduate programs in animal science at North Carolina State University
Melissa Merrill graduated in 1989 with a double major in biology and chemistry. She then received her PhD in biochemistry from Wake Forest University, where she worked to identify the gene responsible for an inherited form of thyroid cancer.
From there, she transitioned from analyzing human DNA to examining domestic mammal DNA, taking a research geneticist position with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service in Beltsville, Maryland. Her research group worked to identify genetic markers associated with economically important traits like milk yield, disease resistance, and reproduction in dairy cattle.
She moved back to North Carolina in 2003 to take an assistant professor position in NC State University’s animal science department.
During her 20 years there, she has taught a variety of animal science and biotechnology courses while also conducting molecular biology research in dairy cattle, cats, beef cattle, dogs, and pigs.
She currently serves as the director of undergraduate programs in animal science, which has over 850 students enrolled.
Tags: biology, chemistry, women in science
