Fredejah Royer

 

Hello, my name is Fredejah and I was born in St. Croix, U.S.V.I. I attended undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke where I obtained my Bachelor’s in the Science of Biology. I was a part of the NIH’s RISE program during undergrad for about 2 years, upon graduation I was accepted into the NIH’s PREP program here at UGA. I have been a PREP scholar for going on 2 years now and I am currently conducting research in the Center for Vaccines and Immunology in the Jarrod Mousa lab. I am working to characterize human monoclonal antibodies against a highly conserved surface protein of S. pneumoniae, the pneumococcal histidine triad D (PhtD). Specifically, I mapped the epitopes targeted by each human antibody by cloning and recombinantly expressing truncated fragments of PhtD, which were used in ELISA assays to determine antibody binding. I determined the serotype breadth of the human mAbs by conducting western blots and ELISA assays with fixed bacteria and probed with each mAb to assess binding. In addition, we are assessing the therapeutic efficacy of the human antibodies in a mouse model of pneumococcal infection. As part of this project, I have carried out experiments that involve gene cloning, ELISA, PCR, protein expression and purification, size exclusion chromatography, whole cell ELISAs, western blots, and mouse studies. These studies will enable us to understand the mechanism by which human antibodies target this surface protein in efforts to create broadly reactive antibody therapeutics. I plan to further my education by joining a PhD program in the Fall of 2021. My areas of interest are Immunology, Bacterial pathogenesis, host-pathogen interactions, Virology, and Microbiology.