Celebrating Excellence: Fall/Winter Core Staff Recognition Awards
The School of Medicine (SOM) Office of Research Technologies is proud to announce the recipients of the Fall/Winter Core Staff Recognition Awards. These awards celebrate the outstanding staff within our UNC-Chapel Hill core facilities who exemplify the highest standards of Customer Service, Performance Excellence, and Technical Achievement.
Customer Service Award: Gabrielle Cannon
Genomic Services Manager, Advanced Analytics Core
Gabrielle is celebrated for her technical brilliance and tireless dedication to the UNC research community. As a “quintessential team player,” she manages complex genomic workflows with such proficiency that investigators remark “data magically appears” once samples are in her care.
- Scientific Impact: Her deep expertise in single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) was vital to a high-impact 2025 Cell publication.
- Technological Innovation: Gabrielle pioneered fixed-cell sequencing technologies that have already saved labs significant time and cost.
- Essential Support: One faculty member noted that a major transcriptomic resource—already cited over 200 times—“wouldn’t have happened without Gabrielle”.
Beyond her mastery of the bench, Gabrielle is recognized for her extreme flexibility, frequently working late into the night or through holidays to ensure the survival of precious, time-sensitive samples. Whether she is processing 1,000 samples or making complex science accessible to everyone from undergraduates to deans, her commitment elevates the entire core’s reputation for customer service.
Performance Excellence Award: Nivedita (Nivi) Pareek
Manager, UNC Microbiome Core
Since joining the Microbiome Core in 2022, Nivi has demonstrated an extraordinary professional trajectory. She has evolved from a technically skilled bench scientist into a strategic leader whose work materially elevates the rigor and efficiency of research across campus.
- Innovation & Efficiency: Nivi independently mastered coding and robotics to implement automated liquid-handling protocols. By developing miniaturized DNA library preparation workflows, she dramatically increased throughput while creating a path for significant cost savings for investigators.
- Operational Excellence: She spearheaded a comprehensive overhaul of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), ensuring consistency in reagent handling and biosafety that has directly reduced sample-failure rates.
- Mentorship & Collaboration: A natural educator, Nivi has mentored numerous students and staff, instilling rigorous scientific thinking in the next generation.
Technical Achievement Award: DaVetta Pulley
Gnotobiotic Research Support Technician, National Gnotobiotic Rodent Resource Center
DaVetta is recognized for her remarkable technical proficiency and her role as an essential pillar of the Gnotobiotic Core. Over six years, she has earned a reputation for a “relentlessly positive attitude” and a mastery of the high-precision procedures required for germ-free research.
- Precision Under Pressure: DaVetta performs high-stakes procedures with “effortless” precision, such as completing nearly 600 injections in a single period despite the physical restrictions of isolator gloves.
- Funding Success: Her meticulous data collection directly supported a Principal Investigator’s R01 grant application, which achieved full funding on its first submission.
- Unwavering Dedication: She consistently goes above and beyond, providing the daily monitoring required for high-cost, complex experiments to proceed without interruption.
DaVetta’s attentiveness to researchers’ needs and her growth into a mentorship role make her an invaluable asset to the SOM’s research mission.