The Heart Of A Researcher

Wanda O’Neal, an associate professor in the UNC School of Medicine, grew up on a farm in North Dakota, never dreaming she’d one day become a scientist, let alone a key biomedical researcher at one of the top academic research institutions in the world.

While in her early 20s and unsure about her future, a friend asked a simple question, “What do you really want to do, Wanda?” And Wanda, who had six siblings who had suffered with cystic fibrosis, answered, “Well, I want to work on cystic fibrosis.” And the friend said, “Well why aren’t you doing that?”

Years later, she and colleagues at the UNC Marsico Lung Institute have led the way toward better treatments for people with cystic fibrosis.

Read the complete Carolina Story from UNC Health Care…

This is story number 222 in the Carolina Stories 225th Anniversary Edition magazine.

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