Dr. Boone is a native of North Carolina and obtained his Bachelor of Science in Biology from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2016 as a first-generation college student. After graduating, he worked at the biotechnology company EpiCypher in Durham, NC, for two years, and then moved to Los Angeles, California, where he earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2024. Following his completion of his postdoctoral research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, he joined the Department of Chemistry and Physics at Western Carolina University in the Fall of 2025. While not teaching or in his research lab, Dr. Boone enjoys hiking, watching movies/documentaries, and sampling various ice cream establishments.

I graduated from UNCA in 2023 with a Bachelor’s in Chemistry, and I’m currently working on my Master’s in Chemistry with a focus in Environmental Chemistry. I’m excited to be continuing my education and acquiring more research experience at WCU. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, cooking, and spending time with my husband and our cat Disco.

My name is Matthew Frantz, and I’m a sophomore Electrical Engineering major on the pre-med track at Western Carolina University. I have a strong interest in science, specifically biology and chemistry, and I enjoy exploring how these fields work with engineering to advance technology and medicine.