Moving from Point A to Point B

Moise Khayrallah, a Carolina educational psychology doctoral graduate, credits the UNC School of Education with providing him the foundation of social sciences research. The methods and statistical analyses he learned from influential faculty members taught him “how to move from Point A to Point B” in the research process.

“What sort of hypotheses are you testing? What do you have to do? What do you have to prove? What sort of questions do you ask, and not ask? It’s really thinking about how do I maneuver a hypothesis to prove it? And that’s what we do a lot of in the pharmaceutical world,” he said.

In Khayrallah’s career, “Point A” was a doctoral degree from Carolina, and “Point B” was his first job at Burroughs Wellcome followed by 30 successful years in the pharmaceutical industry, where his research skills have been relied upon to conduct analysis of clinical trials, and then to plan research programs to develop and test new drugs. During that time, he has co-founded and served as CEO for several pharmaceutical companies, and is currently CEO of Emergo Therapeutics.

Khayrallah’s entry into the pharmaceutical field was made possible by the tools Carolina’s School of Education gave him. Now, he wants to give those tools for discovery to future Tar Heels.

Read the complete Carolina Story from the UNC School of Education…

This is story number 98 in the Carolina Stories 225th Anniversary Edition magazine.

In 2018, Khayrallah made a gift to the UNC School of Education to establish the Moise A. Khayrallah Innovation Fund, which will support selected students in the Master of Arts in Educational Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (MEITE) program. In its initial year, the fund will fully support eight master’s students.

Related Stories

How to Heal a Broken Heart

Celebrating a Presidential Day

Siblings Guide the Next Generation