Service Assistant Professor
Co-Director, WVU Campus Food Garden
Nikki Byrne-Hoffman is a native Mountaineer. She grew up in a small town in Braxton County, WV, and moved to Morgantown to complete her B.A. in Biochemistry-Molecular Biology and her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences. Her dissertation research focused primarily on systems biology and immunology in murine and cellular models of melanoma.
Nikki worked previously in the Department of Biology as an Academic Lab Manager, where she led the Evansdale Campus academic laboratory operations and assisted in the coordination and design of introductory biology active learning modules. In addition to her experience in higher education, Nikki’s community activism work over the last 20 years includes addressing statewide issues, such as housing and food justice, civil rights, gender equity in higher education, sustainable and inclusive green spaces, and affordable high-quality childcare and early childhood education.
Nikki is a Co-Director of the WVU Campus Food Garden and a Service Assistant Professor in the Division of Plant and Soil Sciences. Her role deals with formal and informal curriculum, advocacy, and inclusive and diversified recruitment and retention in urban, small-scale, and community-based agriculture. She teaches courses related to the intersectionality of agriculture and community food security within regional food systems. In addition, the WVU Campus Food Garden hosts informal student and community-centered workshops and seminars on gardening and food justice topics.