NoireSTEM

Dr. Catherine D. White

Catherine Dinitra White received a BS in Biology from Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, NC in 1996 then obtained a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, MI in 2002. Following postdoctoral training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Seeding Postdoctoral Innovators in Research and Education Program (2006), she joined the Department of Biology at N.C. A&T where she maintained an active microbial pathogenesis research lab and trained undergraduate and Masters students for 13 years. She then transitioned her research to focus on student success and career readiness, inspired by years of developing and teaching various student success courses including a multidisciplinary research course and a course to prepare students for the challenge of gaining acceptance into professional and graduate programs. She became the N.C. A&T Pre-Professional Scholars Program Director in 2009 to significantly increase the number of minority students pursuing careers in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and law. Specifically, she initiates and manages collaborations with professional and graduate school institutions and oversees multiple student groups to foster professional development. Finally, she serves as Co-PI of the North Carolina Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation to increase minority recruitment and retention in STEM careers, Developer and Co-Director of the Greensboro AHEC – N.C. A&T Pre-Professional Scholars Summer Experience Program, the Greensboro Area Health Education Center Scholars Board, Executive Board of the ELIMU Learning Center for Refugee Children in North Carolina, and the Dean of Students for the Greensboro-AHEC Scholars Program.