Emile Leo Charles

Emile graduated with highest distinction with a BSPH in nutrition and with minors in chemistry and French. During a gap year before his first year, he interned with an orthopedic surgery team in Cape Town, South Africa, and a UNC public health program in Lilongwe, Malawi. As a student, Emile was involved in the Food, Fitness, and Opportunity Research Collaborative and the Global Food Research Program. He supported community gardens across North Carolina and evaluated global food assistance programs. He completed a senior honors thesis on the determinants of Caribbean children’s dietary habits. Between his second and third years, Emile received a Boren Scholarship to study West African languages and work with the UN World Food Programme in Dakar, Senegal. In his final year, he served as a teaching assistant for an anatomy lab and a food-systems course, earned the inaugural Undergraduate Gillings Award for Excellence in Health Equity Research, and completed a three-year tenure with the UNC Men’s Club Crew Team.