Graduate students benefit from philanthropy

A three-panel portrait collage featuring UNC-Chapel Hill graduate students Jaime Lindh, Briana Nave and Gooyoon Chung. Lindh smiles while holding books in a campus hallway, Nave poses outdoors in a blue coat, and Chung works in a laboratory wearing a white lab coat and gloves beside a microscope. — UNC graduate students Jaime Lindh, Briana Nave and Gooyoon Chung (left to right) are advancing research in political science, musicology and neuroscience while contributing to the classroom and broader Carolina community through teaching and scholarship.

Graduate students make up more than a third of the student population at Carolina, and nearly 2,400 graduate students are part of the UNC College of Arts and Sciences — the largest academic unit on campus.

Jim White, Craver Family Dean of the College, says these students inspire him daily. “Private funding plays a crucial role in empowering these students to become t he next generation of talented scholars who are committed to pursuing bold ideas and making meaningful contributions to society,” he said.

Meet three of these inspiring graduate students.

Unlocking the secrets of the human brain

Gooyoon Chung sits at a laboratory workstation in a white lab coat and gloves while using equipment beside a microscope.

Gooyoon Chung, a Druscilla French Graduate Fellow, develops devices that interface with human brain organoids to advance neuroscience research at Carolina. (Submitted photo)

Gooyoon Chung is a Druscilla French Graduate Fellow who is developing devices that can interface with human brain organoids. These pea-sized spheres of living neurons are used for drug testing, disease modeling and studying neural activity.

“I see my work as contributing tools that can help unlock the secrets of the human brain by developing advanced interfaces and measurement technologies,” said Chung, who is also a teaching assistant for a data literacy course for first-year students.

Chung said that the financial support he has received gives him the freedom to explore new avenues in his research, work that he hopes will contribute to human health. “As someone who has come a long way from South Korea, I am so grateful for this opportunity to study and have such diverse experiences.”

Examining government-business relationships in Chile

Jaime Lindh smiles while holding a stack of books in a campus hallway.

Political science doctoral student Jaime Lindh studies relationships between local governments and business communities in his native Chile. (Submitted photo)

Jaime Lindh is passionate about understanding the causes of inequitable government policies and finding policy solutions to increase governmental effectiveness. In the fourth year of the political science doctoral program, Lindh studies the relationships between local governments and business communities in his native country of Chile.

“I’m interested in understanding how business leaders engage with local governments and the negative or positive consequences of their involvement in terms of development and policymaking,” Lindh said.

An expert in data analysis, Lindh taught a master’s level course in the subject and was a teaching assistant for Essential Mathematics and Statistics and Intro to Comparative Politics.

A multiyear recipient of the Thomas M. Uhlman Graduate Fund in Political Science, Lindh has also received support from the Whit Ayres Fund for Graduate Student Support in the College’s political science department and the Director’s Fund for Excellence in Latin American Studies. The funding allowed him to do field research in Chile and share the research at Carolina and at conferences.

Bridging science and music

Briana Nave stands outdoors on campus wearing a blue coat in front of a brick building and greenery.

Musicology doctoral graduate Briana Nave explored connections between science and music in her dissertation research at UNC-Chapel Hill. (Submitted photo)

Briana Nave ’26 (PhD), a recipient of the Cobey Graduate Student Excellence Fund, graduated with a doctorate in musicology this spring. Her dissertation explored how scientists studying musicians treated the body’s ability to make music as a sign of some greater truth about how the mind and body work.

“Scientists thought only those with special genes, nerves or brains could make great music,” said Nave. The idea “that your hardware determines your destiny” turned out not to be true, although it is an idea that still has some traction in scientific and popular thought.

Nave also led musicianship courses for ear training and was a teaching assistant for an interdisciplinary course exploring cultural imaginings of the American South. She taught introductory classes about rock music and jazz.

She made professional connections as a presenter at American Musicological Society conferences and as a participant in its Summer Teaching Institute.

“I owe UNC-Chapel Hill a real debt of gratitude for supporting and believing in my research, because no aspect of my education would have been possible without that support,” she said.

Learn more about the students in the spring 2026 Carolina Arts & Sciences magazine.