Cameron Coyle is pursuing a PhD in Immunology and Infectious Diseases as she explores innate immune memory in the American deer tick, which is of major public health concern as it transmits Borrelia burgdorferi (the causative agent of Lyme disease) and Anaplasma phagocytophilum (the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis). She is being mentored by Dr. Dana Shaw, an assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology.
Dr. Chris Akinsulie is pursuing a PhD in Immunology and Infectious Diseases under the mentorship of Dr. Susan Noh in the College of Veterinary Medicine. His research could help to identify vaccine candidates to protect cattle from Anaplasma marginale, a common tick-borne bacteria that can cause disease and death in herds.
Graduate student Albina Makio is studying how the infectious herpes simplex virus invades the cells of its host. It is research that could ultimately lead to new treatments and vaccines to target the virus, which is present in nearly half of the world’s population.
Graduate student Charles Ugwu is leading research to identify strategies that can limit the ability of a common type of pathogenic bacteria to utilize the metabolic requirements critical for its proliferation.
Graduate student Brittany Genera is researching how a common tick-borne pathogen uses special proteins to manipulate host cells to survive and replicate. Brittany is pursuing a doctorate in Biomedical Sciences – Immunology and Infectious Diseases.
The four-year National Institutes of Health grant is aimed at helping WSU researchers stop viruses before they cause infections in their hosts.
Stephanie Johnson is leading research at WSU’s Paul G. Allen School of Global Health aimed at exploring how policies at large institutions and health care facilities contribute to the spread of infectious diseases. Stephanie is working toward a doctorate in Biomedical Sciences – Immunology and Infectious Diseases,
Graduate student Shannon Allen Whiles has been leading research at WSU that could lead to new treatments for a highly infectious bacteria, Francisella tularensis, that can cause severe illness and even death. Shannon recently completed a doctorate in Biomedical Sciences – Immunology and Infectious Diseases, a research-intensive program designed to train students in immunology, host-pathogen interactions, and population biology of bacterial, parasitic, and viral infectious diseases in animals and humans.
Graduate student Cameron Mandel studied Chlamydia in the lab of Dr. Anders Omsland located in the state-of-the-art Allen Center, home to some of the most advanced research into infectious disease, antimicrobial resistance, rabies control and prevention, and zoonotic disease.
The new peer mentor program connects graduate students with mentors in their field.
