蘑菇短视频

This February, Brian Byrd, 蘑菇短视频鈥檚 professor of environmental health sciences and resident 鈥渟keeter man,鈥� was awarded the 2026 University of North Carolina System Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Byrd has been with 蘑菇短视频since 2008 and has taught thousands of Catamounts over his tenure. His most recent courses include 鈥淓pidemiological Methods,鈥� 鈥淰ector-borne Disease Control,鈥� 鈥淔irst Year Seminar鈥� and 鈥淕lobal Health.鈥� 

 Byrd鈥檚 nickname stems from his research, which is focused on domestic, mosquito-borne diseases, specifically La Crosse encephalitis, the ecology of mosquitoes and the molecular identification of arthropod vectors.

 Students learning from Byrd can expect opportunities in and out of the classroom to conduct their own research, many of whom have seen their findings published nationally with partners like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

 Alumna and former student of Byrd Marissa Taylor is currently employed with the CDC as an epidemiologist. Describing Byrd's teaching, she praised his ability to motivate and the experiences he offered her and her peers.

鈥淭raining beyond the classroom was integral to my success as a scientist; his classes were where the rubber met the road 鈥� had we gathered adequate data about our specimens? Had we packed enough forceps? Heightening our engagement, we were pursuing contemporary research questions with tangible impacts,鈥� Taylor said. 

 鈥淢y group field collected Ixodes scapularis ticks, which transmit Lyme disease, and needed to be tracked on their southward expansion into western North Carolina. Students were empowered through these experiences, which bestowed more responsibility than typical for undergraduate students.鈥� 

 Another of Byrd鈥檚 former students, Lieutenant Corey Day of the United States Navy, also wrote fondly of the hands-on methods employed by the professor.

鈥淭he 鈥榮keeter鈥� man showed up to our classroom with a cage filled with hundreds of mosquitoes, into which he promptly inserted his entire arm. While the mosquitoes fed on his blood, Brian explained his scientific role as a medical entomologist, including his mission to reduce the hidden burden of a little-known mosquito-borne disease that affected families in western North Carolina,鈥� Day said. 

鈥淗is classes taught you how to think broadly and critically, organize projects and work together as a team.鈥�

When reflecting on his teaching, Byrd describes an overarching and simple goal: 鈥渢o provide students opportunities to succeed.鈥�

鈥淔or some, it may just be getting them successfully through a First Year Seminar course while they are struggling during their first semester at college. For others, it may be sparking an interest in public health or a public service career. For some it may be making room for them to apply what they are learning in a way that is meaningful to them. For many it means sharing my professional networks or resources. For some it means pointing them in a direction and getting out of their way (but being available if there are hiccups). For others, it goes far deeper,鈥� Byrd said.

Byrd鈥檚 teaching philosophy and empathy for his students was born of his own tumultuous time early in academia.

鈥淪ome of (my students鈥�) stories mirrored some of my challenges as a student. I was a first-generation college student, and it took me nine years to finish my undergrad degree,鈥�
Byrd said. 鈥淚 had some hiccups along the way, figuring things out, but I always enjoyed college. I liked the university environment.鈥�

That enjoyment, explains Byrd, however strained, was cultivated by mentors from high school through graduate school.

It was professor Michael Stuart of UNC Asheville that saw him underachieving and pushed him further. It was his professors and peer community at Tulane University who supported him and his family after Hurricane Katrina flooded their home.

鈥淕etting this award has been an opportunity to reflect on how others have impacted me in a meaningful way, and that is a gift,鈥� Byrd said.

Asked for his advice for students and Catamounts aspiring to teach themselves, Byrd offered this:

鈥淚 think at the end of the day, you鈥檝e got to get into it. You鈥檝e really got to get into it鈥� For us that means getting out of the classroom, getting in the field, making those observations, and generating questions from your own observations,鈥� Byrd said.

鈥淭he world鈥檚 changing, and the way to observe that change and understand that change is to get into it. Some of that can happen in the classroom or the lab, but for us, a lot of it happens outside. So whatever that means for your disciplines, you just got to do it.鈥�

Educators like Byrd ensure 蘑菇短视频 will continue to shine for the creative and diverse pedagogies designed by its faculty.