Leo W. Parks Distinguished Lectureship

History of Dr. Leo W. Parks

Dr. Leo W. Parks, Professor Emeritus, was born in Wetaug, Illinois, and raised in the Chicago area. He received his B.S. with honors from the University of Illinois, Master’s degree from Indiana University, and Ph.D. from the University of Washington. Under the auspices of a National Academy of Sciences Fellowship, he was a post-doctoral research associate in biochemistry at the Argonne National Laboratory. This was interrupted for active duty service in the US Army. After his service, Dr. Parks joined the faculty at Oregon State University (OSU) as an assistant professor and progressed through the ranks to professor. Dr. Parks came to NC State in 1985 as a professor and the head of the Department of Microbiology.

During his career, thirty-two graduate students earned their doctoral degrees under his supervision. His research focused on the biosynthesis of ergosterol in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a target for antifungals. Dr. Parks regularly taught the undergraduate and graduate courses in Microbial Physiology, and he served as Head of the Department of Microbiology from 1985 through 1993. At the commencement ceremony in May 2001, the graduating microbiology undergraduate students presented Dr. Parks with a plaque to recognize his outstanding teaching and to express their gratitude to him. Dr. Leo Parks has since retired, and he currently lives with his wife, Nancy, in Seattle, Washington.

The Leo W. Parks Distinguished Lectureship in Microbiology

This lecture series was created to honor Dr. Parks in perpetuity for his selfless attitude and many contributions to the NC State community. The Lectureship is made possible by the generous donors who helped establish a permanent endowment in the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation, Inc., with matching support from the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology (PMB) in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at North Carolina State University. Special thanks to Warren Casey and Hosni Hassan for their leadership role in the creation of the endowment.

We extend our gratitude and many thanks to all the generous donors to the endowment, including alumni, family, friends, NCSU and corporations, that make this Lectureship possible.

2024 L.W. Parks Lecture Schedule

LW Parks Microbiology Research Awards

We are pleased to announce the inaugural, 2024 student recipients of LW Parks Research Awards in Microbiology.  The following project proposals are recognized for their scientific merit, with financial awards of up to $1,000 provided to help achieve the described goals.  The awardees are:

Graduate Student Awards

Samantha Kisthardt: Elucidating the role of cholate in preventing C. difficile infection in mice monocolonized with C. scindens Major: Microbiology,  Mentor: Dr. Casey Theriot

Sivaranjani Palani: Role of rare and abundant microbiomes in the anaerobic degradation of long chain fatty acids Major: Microbiology,  Mentor: Dr. Francis de los Reyes

Aurora Toennisson: Evaluating the effects of Azospirillum and PPX transgenic plants on phosphorus bioavailability  Major: Plant Biology,  Mentor: Dr. Imara Perera

Undergraduate Student Awards

Rachel Edwards: Upstream Stimulatory Factor Impact on B-cell DNA Damage and cellular stress Major: Microbiology,  Mentor: Dr. Michael Sikes

Daniel Richard: Investigating Roles of UDP-Glucose in Hyaluronic Acid Production in Fructose Treated Immortalized Kupffer Cells Major: Biochemistry,  Mentor: Dr. Arion Kennedy

Emily Sontag: Molecular and Cultivation Assays of Human-Associated Methanogens Major: Genetics,  Mentor: Dr. Zhe Lyu

Congratulations to all of the award recipients!

Past Lectures Funded by the Leo W. Parks Distinguished Lectureship

Caroline Ajo-Franklin, Mary K. Firestone, Manu Prakash, Susan S. Golden, Dennis Dean, Martin Warren, Russell Rodriguez, Matthew Chapman, Allan Konopka, Rodolphe Barrangou, Nicholas Ornston, Peter Greenberg, Derek Lovely, Caroline Harwood, Patrick Dennis, and many other extraordinary researchers!

Contact Information for L.W. Parks Lectureship 

Chris Cammarene-Wessel
North Carolina Agricultural Foundation, Inc.
North Carolina State University
Box 7645
Raleigh, NC  27695

919-515-7678
chris_wessel@ncsu.edu