Campbell’s Dr. James Junker added one more link to his connection with his native Brazil this summer. Junker’s parents were missionaries to Brazil, where he was born and lived until he was six months old. Several yeas ago, he renewed his acquaintance with his birthplace on a visit with friend, Brazilian native and Campbell alumnus, Marco Melo. While traveling to Brazil with a choral group this summer, Junker, who is associate professor of physiology and cell biology, strengthened ties to his country by teaching Melo’s students. “It was a professionally satisfying sequence of events,” said Junker. “I got to know Marco when he was a student at Campbell and worked as an assistant soccer coach here. That educational and professional experience helped get him his job at the university in Recife, Brazil, and now I was able to teach his students.” After graduating from Campbell University in 1995 with a master’s degree in education and working as a Fighting Camels assistant soccer coach for several years, Marco Melo became the founding athletic director, creating the Sports Department, at Brazil’s Universidade Salgado de Olveira’s Recife campus.”I was excited to have the opportunity to give an hour’s talk to Marco’s Exercise Physiology students on the physiology of hypertension,” Junker said. “The students were very attentive even though it was their first day of the semester. What helped capture their attention was the dynamic interaction among me and Marco and the teacher who acted as translator. It was a lot of fun.”A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa. with a Bachelor of Science in biology, Dr. James Junker went on to receive a Ph.D. in pathology from Duke University.He came to Campbell in 1989 as assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences and became an associate professor in 1994. Junker also served as senior lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences at Bayero University in Nigeria and as a staff fellow at the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Md.He has published articles in numerous professional journals, including the Journal of Pharmacy Teaching, the Journal of Biological Chemistry, and the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Junker’s professional memberships include the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society, the American Society for Cell Biology, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the Microscopy Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.Photo Copy: Front Row, fourth from left: Dr. James Junker teaches a class on hypertension to Brazilian students
Junker steps up for Campbell alumnus in Brazil