From mapping anthocyanins to mapping a career

After five years of traveling North Carolina repairing and maintaining computers, 2011 Kannapolis Scholar Adam Baxter decided to apply his undergraduate degree in computer systems and computer programming to a new field.

He chose bioinformatics and enrolled in the Professional Science master’s program in Bioinformatics at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Ann Loraine, Ph.D., associate professor in the bioinformatics and genomics department at UNCC, encouraged him to apply for the Kannapolis Scholars shortly after he began working with her in December 2010.

The Kannapolis Scholars program is a first-of-its-kind transdisciplinary training program for postgraduate students.

Of his experience, Baxter said, “I really enjoy programming and analysis. The job I was in, I couldn’t do any of that. I love what I do now.”

The advantages of being a Kannapolis Scholar extend beyond research. “The Kannapolis Scholars program allows students like me to interact with extremely intelligent and wise people from academia and industry who have been where I am now,” Baxter said.

“That’s the most important part of being a Kannapolis Scholar is networking with other people, learning what they do and having them learn about what you do.”

The interaction gives the 2010 and 2011 Kannapolis Scholars at the NCRC a chance to see how their research can apply in both industry and academic settings. For Baxter, he’s not only gaining research experience but a network of colleagues and a pathway for his scientific career to develop.

For more details, visit the N.C. Research Campus website at http://www.ncresearchcampus.net/training-education/kannapolis-scholars.aspx or the Kannapolis Scholars website at http://www.ncsu. edu/kannapolis.