Plants Still Grow During Difficult Times and We Can Too: Dr. Bullock’s Path to Becoming an Educator

By Ameesha Hazarika

Within late September and early October, southeastern North America was hit with Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, respectively. During this time, people and animals all fled from areas of danger. As mobile organisms, we can avoid dangerous situations such as natural disasters, but plants are unable to move during these events. Such conditions, including drought, flood, salinity, and high or low temperatures—essentially non-living conditions that negatively affect living organisms—are called abiotic factors or stressors. As a result of their inability to move, “plants have evolved specialized molecular mechanisms that serve to balance the trade-off between abiotic stress responses and growth (Chen et al., 2021, p. 1).” While working towards his PhD in Genetics at NC State, Dr. David Bullock co-authored the research paper addressing this topic called To Fight or to Grow: The Balancing Role of Ethylene in Plant Abiotic Stress Responses along with Dr. Hao Chen, Dr. José Alonso, and Dr. Anna Stepanova.

Dr. Bullock attended North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and earned a bachelor’s degree in general biology with a minor in chemistry. During his time at NCCU, he developed close relationships with his professors and mentors, who encouraged him to pursue a career focused not only on research but also teaching. After graduating, he worked in Vivian Cheung’s lab at the University of Michigan and then later in the Alonso-Stepanova Lab at NC State, which grew his interest in plant molecular biology and crop genetic engineering tenfold. His research focused on the role of ethylene and how, along with other hormones such as jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, and cytokinin, it can promote plant growth or activate defense mechanisms when under unfavorable conditions. Combining his interest in plant genetic engineering and teaching, Dr. Bullock saw himself applying to the BIT Program for a position as a postdoctoral teaching scholar. 

As an educator, his values are timeliness, organization, and growth and development. “If you’re starting out from zero, I would like for you to keep on growing and keep learning and never be afraid to make a mistake,” he said. “I want the students to know I’m a human being and that they can talk to me.” Like how a plant adapts to grow and develop even during adverse conditions, us as students and individuals should not shy away from our hardships in fear of making mistakes. As a person belonging to a minority group himself, Dr. Bullock wants to encourage other minority students to enter the STEM field and help them see their potential beyond their circle. “I like talking about other minority scientists first before each lecture and then tying that into the class itself.” During our interview, Dr. Bullock and I had a long conversation about our personal experiences as minorities and how, even though our cultural differences can subject us to discrimination, it’s also what allows us to connect with others from our culture and make our world beautifully diverse in many ways. 

“Sometimes I have to put on a mask but when I’m in my office it comes off. It’s difficult and takes time to break out of that cycle but finding people like me has allowed me to embrace myself more.”
Dr. David Bullock

After a year at the BIT Program, he introduced his course on plant genetic engineering in Fall 2023. The model plant used for the course belongs to an Australian tobacco species known as Nicotiana benthamiana, which “is a plant that is usually used for transient assays but was found to be very pliable for cell culture.” To him, “plant cell culture is a really good means of introducing traits into model plant species” and through his course, he hoped students would develop the necessary skills needed to work in sterile environments. Such understanding can be applied to current uses of plant genetic engineering, like enhancing crop resistance and tolerance towards biotic and abiotic stressors and genetically modifying the crops to optimize yield. 

As of Fall 2024, Dr. Bullock accepted a position as a lecturer for the Biological and Biomedical Sciences department under the College of Health and Sciences at NCCU. NCCU is as lucky to have gained such a dedicated and involved educator like Dr. Bullock as he is to have this opportunity to give back to his alma mater which made him feel like he belonged and helped him on his journey of becoming a researcher and an educator. At NC State, Dr. Bullock became a role model for many and I know that he will continue to encourage people of all backgrounds to learn and grow.