Kristen Dominguez

 

My name is Kristen Dominguez and I am from Miami, Florida. I double majored in Psychology and Biology at Florida International University, where I first discovered my passion to become a research scientist.

Originally, I was a pre-medical student, thinking I was destined to become a physician my whole life; that is, until I met my undergraduate research mentor during my fourth year, Dr. Evelyn Gaiser. Throughout my experience in her lab studying phytoplankton dynamics, I became enamored with the research process and presented at my first conference. It was here that I met a diverse and international group of passionate scientists that completely opened my eyes to the field of becoming a research scientist. I tackled on a fifth year of study to obtain the Biology degree and during that time took courses such as Parasitology, Virology, and Ecology. I was hooked.

These experiences led me to understand how little I knew about the field of researching infectious diseases. This is why I am here now in the PREP@UGA program. This program offers me exactly what I was looking for – an interdisciplinary training in infectious research. There simply was not another program that gave me the option to work with such a diverse array of faculty conducting infectious disease research. PREP@UGA not only gives me more research experience in my field of interest, but also gives me the opportunity to attend and present at conferences, develop as a professional, and take coursework to prepare for graduate school.

Currently, I am in Dr. Michael Yabsley’s lab studying related native and invasive tick phylogenetics and molecular techniques, as well as screening for a target bacterium, Rickettsia. The invasive tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, has recently become established in several states throughout the eastern US. This tick is especially concerning due to its ability to reproduce parthenogenetically, feed on a diverse host range with higher burdens, and transmit a large number of pathogens. Because there are now four Haemaphysalis species in the New World, we are developing a restriction fragment length polymorphism assay utilizing two gene targets in order to have a more rapid and cost-effective method for confirming the presence of the invasive tick. In addition, I have also been screening the invasive tick for Rickettsia. Due to the array of Rickettsia species that inhabit ticks, both pathogenic and endosymbiotic, it is important to understand their degree of diversity. This allows for better prediction of bacteria transmission and maintenance across multiple tick species and their hosts. I have also taken up a side project to survey the Rickettsia communities within hispid cotton rats in Georgia. This will be a descriptive study to further determine the maintenance ability of this bacteria.

For these projects, I am given the opportunity to gain skills in molecular biology (including PCR), basic bioinformatics (using Geneious, MEGA, and R studio software to create phylogenetic trees, map modeling, etc.), fieldwork (trapping animals to collect ticks and cotton rat samples), and necropsy techniques (to obtain cotton rat spleen samples).

This year at PREP@UGA will more than prepare me to begin a Ph.D. program in infectious diseases. From there, I will begin a post-doctoral training position to continue in an academia or industry position.