stentonan
vol. XXXill, issue 1
north Carolina school of science and mathematics
Sharon Letchworth to
speak at Convocation
august 2013
stentorianl23@gmail.com
By Su Cho
NCSSM Alumna Sharon
Letchworth will speak at
NCSSM’s 34th Convocation
on Aug. 13. Letchworth is
the President of Letchworth
Pharma Consulting, which
advises start-up companies
on scientific planning and
development strategies.
Letchworth previously
worked with Targacept, Inc. as
Therapeutic Area Leader for
the Movement Disorders pro
gram, focusing on symptomat
ic treatment and disease modi
fication in Parkinson’s disease.
She established and cham
pioned therapeutic area strate
gies based on unmet medical
need, input from key opinion
leaders, and market dynamics.
Letchworth led a cross
functional project team to
advance programs on Parkin-
son’s disease, essential tremor.
tardive dyskinesias, ~and or
phan indications.
She also served as Preclini-
cal Program Director for Tar-
gacept’s collaboration with
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK),
Sharon Letchworth
overseeing drug discovery and
research in smoking cessation
and other addictions, pain,
obesity, and Parkinson’s dis
ease.
As director, she oversaw
peclinical project team activi
ties pertaining to the programs
within the GSK collaboration.
Letchworth formerly involved
herself in Targacept’s cogni
tion collaborations with Astra
Zeneca and Aventis, develop
ing research and budgets.
Working as a preclinical
jcience liaison, she provided
interface between the depart
ments of Preclinical Research
and Business and Clinical De
velopment to position science
and progress communication
materials for partnering efforts.
She conducted a postdoc
toral fellowship at Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
and Wake Forest University
School of Medicine.
At the cancer center. Let-
worth worked on pharmaco
logical, functional, and ana
tomical characterizations of
the mu opioid receptor (MOR-
1) and orphan opioid-like re
ceptor (ORL-1).
At Wake Forest, she
analyzed opioid and dopamine
systems in the non-human
primate and studied the effects
of drugs of abuse on these
systems.
Letchworth graduated from
NCSSM in 1988, received a
Bachelor’s degree in Biology
from Wake Forest University
in 1992, and a Ph.D. in Neu
roscience at Wake Forest Uni
versity School of Medicine in
1997.
Letchworth currently holds
an Adjunct Faculty position in
the Department of Physiology
and Pharmacology in the Wake
Forest University School of
Medicine.
New faculty join
NCSSM family
By Kanan Shah
With the start of a new
school year, NCSSM is proud
to welcome new teachers and
SLI’s to its community.
This year’s new teachers
include Michael Bruno in
Chemistry; Sam Boyarsky and
Mason Matthews in Computer
Science; David Cantrell, Zach
Lechner, Michael Mulvey, and
David Rigsbee in Humanities;
John Sheridan in Mathematics,
and Sam Wheeler in Physics.
Bruno, the new AP
Chemistry and biochemistry
teacher, is from Connecticut
and 'has been teaching at
Guilford College in Greensboro
for the last two years. He lives
in the neighborhood and says,
“If you’re up early enough,
you’ll probably see me running
by the school with my two
huskies. They need a lot of
exercise!”
Matthews is an NCSSM
alumnus from the class of
’98. He will be teaching only
one class. Databases, because
he is also the president of a
software company, “SciMed
Solutions,” in Durham.
Matthews took two of the
three most valuable courses
for his current job. Genetics
and Immunology, at NCSSM.
He also still remembers the
Leadership Seminar with Dr.
Warshaw, which has helped
him. Matthews looks forward
to being able to teach college-
level classes where “The art of
teaching doesn’t take a back
seat to research.”
Boyarsky, another alumnus
of NCSSM from Durham,
will be teaching AP Computer
Science I and Data Structures
I. He is excited to be working
in such a cool place.
Lechner, the new American
Studies and Latin America
teacher, grew up in Missouri
and completed his Ph.D. in
history at Temple University.
He is excited to work at
NCSSM, explore the local
culture, and live in the South
after reading and writing about
it for so long.
Mulvey was previously
a visiting lecturer at UNC-
Chapel Hill, teaching African,
World, and European History.
He specialized in modem
New Faculty
continued on page 2
Student Government sets agenda for year
By David Choi
With the start of the 2013-
2014 school year. Student
Government would like to
extend a warm welcome to all
the students as they move on to
campus.
With juniors starting their
journeys here at NCSSM and
seniors preparing for college
applications and their last
year of high school, SG would
like to encourage students to
remember that they are here
to help students achieve their
goals. SG is here to make sure
students have an awesome
NCSSM experience, whether
it’s the beginning of the first
year or the last.
The Executive Officers
of the 33rd Session of SG
are Student Body President
Parth Thakker, Student Senate
President David Choi, and
Student Body Treasurer Jessica
Lee. Feel free to contact them
if you have any questions or
ideas for SG.
There are 4 standing
committees in SG this year:
Academic Affairs, Student
Affairs, Programming, and
Outreach.
The Academic Affairs
committee works on items
such as scheduling, grade
transparency, and issues
associated with classes.
improving student life on and
around campus. This includes
getting discounts from
restaurants and stores around
campus and leading projects to
improve campus.
The Programming
Committee leads the
organization and execution
of all the events that Student
Government sponsors. Some
The Outreach Committee
handles communications
between the student body
and Student Government,
ensuring that students know
what SG is working on, and
that the student body’s ideas
and concerns are being heard
and addressed. They also head
publicity for the events and
initiatives sponsored by SG.
SGA President Parth Thakker,
grades, and test scores.
The Student Affairs
Committee works on
Senate President David Choi,
examples include Lock-Ins,
the all-male beauty pageant
Mr. Uni, and Senior Breakfast.
Treasurer Jessica Lee
For more information about
SG leaders, positions, and
the Senate, please visit and
“like” the NCSSM Student
Government Page.
Junior Senator elections
are coming up soon this fall.
Serving as a Jimior Senator is
the most direct way for juniors
to work in SG and represent
their class. Juniors interested
in getting involved in Student
Government should keep their
heads up for an email with
more specific information
; concerning nomination,
'petitions, and campaigning in
; upcoming weeks.
I As the school year is just
: starting up, SG would like to
I, encourage students to stop and
I enjoy these moments. Before
i the hectic pressure of classes
' or challenges of getting into
: college quite set in, take a
moment to soak in the beauty
of this new beginning. Once
again welcome to campus,
SG is looking forward to an
amazing year here at NCCSM
and to serving the students.
In this
issue:
PSAT off
Guide to
An Indian
transcripts
Durham
Adventure
page 2
page 4
page 6
Club
Listings
page 8