Department: Scholars

My name is Cierra Gladfelter and I am from Colorado.

I graduated from Colorado School of Mines with a B.S. in biochemistry. Ever since early high school, I knew I had a passion for the biosciences and wanted to pursue future career in that field. I was able to join PREP@UGA right after my graduation from Mines, leading to a seamless transition from undergraduate to postbaccalaureate. Being a part of PREP@UGA has given me the opportunity to be more involved in specialized research in the infectious disease field and really helped to refine my skills and confidence in pursuing a biosciences PhD. During my year in PREP, I joined the Kyle lab in the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases (CTEGD) at the University of Georgia which is a parasitology lab focused on Plasmodium and Naegleria fowleri research. My research project consisted of investigating the Kelch13 propeller domain (pfk13) and the Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine transporter gene (PfCRT) from Plasmodium falciparum isolates collected during the 1990s from South America and Southeast Asia in search of resistance-conferring polymorphisms that may have evolved before the widespread use of anti-malarial drugs artemisinin and its partner drug piperaquine through artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs). Being able to work in a parasitology-based infectious disease lab for my PREP experience has solidified my decision in pursuing a PhD in the infectious disease field and a future research-heavy career and has prepared me fully for starting graduate school in the fall! After the PREP@UGA program, I will be starting in the Integrated Life Sciences (ILS) PhD program at the University of Georgia.

Hello everyone, I am Teryn Railey, a native of Jackson, Mississippi. I am a 2021 graduate of the historic Tougaloo College, where I received my B.S. in Biology with high honors. Since a young age, I have been a very curious individual and never afraid to ask questions. I always enjoyed figuring out the “why” of something. Prior to my matriculation at Tougaloo, I had aspirations of becoming a medical doctor, as it was the only field I knew that involved science. My world changed in the summer of 2019 when I participated in my first biomedical research internship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. I had finally found my niche that fulfilled my personality as well. Biomedical research is an amazing and expansive field that allows you to ask questions and develop your methods for answering. Upon completion of my first internship, I continued to participate in research at UMMC, but I struggled to decide if I still wanted to pursue an MD or a PhD. After graduating, I decided that a PhD made the most sense for what I enjoyed doing daily and long term. Shortly after, my mentor encouraged me to apply to the PREP@UGA program. This program has poured so many invaluable lesson into me, as well as affirmed that I’m capable of being a research scientist. This meant so much to me as a Black woman in a white male-dominating field. PREP also greatly prepared me for the application process and interviews. With their help, I received an offer of admission to every graduate school I applied to. I am now a first-year in the Experimental Therapeutics & Pharmacology program at UMMC. I can confidently say that PREP@UGA fully prepared me for my graduate school experience.

Hello, my name is Courtney Manning, and I am from Northern Virginia.

I graduated from Hampton University with a B.S. in Chemistry with a concentration in forensics.

Originally, I planned to pursue a career as a forensic analyst. However, my life experiences have always made me interested in biomedical research. To strengthen my interdisciplinary training, I applied and was accepted to a post-baccalaureate research program at the University of Georgia, PREP@UGA. This experience has allowed me to explore more fields of biomedical science and prepares me for a bioscience Ph.D. program. During my time in PREP@UGA, I was co-mentored by Dr. Art Edison and Dr. Ross Marklein. My project gave me a unique opportunity to work in a collaborative effort in their labs to improve mesenchymal stromal cells for manufacturing purposes using cell morphology and NMR metabolomics. I learned a variety of techniques such as cell culture, fluorescence microscopy, and NMR spectroscopy. My time at PREP@UGA gave me the experience and confidence to pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical research. From the hands-on experience in a bioengineering and metabolomics lab to the graduate level class work, I was able to “trial run” graduate school before committing to a degree program that could take 5+ years. I am currently at Duke University in the Developmental and Stem Cell Biology program, an interdisciplinary program where I am able to rotate in a variety of labs that span multiple facets of biomedical research.

My name is Alexander Lee, and I am a Georgia native. I graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.S. in Pharmaceutical Science. When I was a child, my grandmother passed away from leukemia and an uncle of liver disease, focusing me on medicine and disease. Later on, I wanted to be a pharmacist but found patient care and counseling to be unsatisfying during my time as a pharmacy technician. Instead, I turned to drug development and biomedical research. After graduating with my Bachelor’s, I was accepted into PREP, leading to an experience that I feel prepared me very well for life as a graduate student. Being a part of PREP@UGA has given me the opportunity to be more involved in specialized research in the infectious disease field and really helped broaden my view in conducting research that would help other researchers understand the basic biology to get a drug to work. During PREP, I joined the Moreno lab in the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases at the University of Georgia, a parasitology lab focused on Toxoplasma gondii. My research project was investigating the Coenzyme Q3 protein which is responsible for making Ubiquinone, an electron transporter in the Electron Transport Chain. Finding differences between T. gondii and human Coq3 would enable the development of drugs to target Toxoplasma effectively. Being able to work in a parasitology-based infectious disease lab for my PREP experience has broadened my view on disease and solidified my decision in pursuing a PhD in infectious disease and drug development. It fully prepared me for starting graduate school this fall and pursuing biomedical research! After the PREP@UGA program, I will be starting in the Integrated Life Sciences (ILS) PhD program at the University of Georgia. Go Dawgs!

Hey, my name is Nathan Gravel. I grew up in Naperville Illinois. I attended Iowa State and have undergraduate degrees in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology and also in Genetics. I always had an affinity for computers but my passion lies in biology. On top of that, there are some many questions in biology that could be more efficiently solved with the aid of computers. When applying my passions, my main goal is to incorporate computer science into every biology lab. My background has taught me to enjoy working with scientists that view the world differently. The PREP program gave me the opportunity to work with scientists of differing  backgrounds and diverse thinkers. I feel like some problems in science need “outside of the box thinking” to solve. UGA PREP also gave me time to think about my career path. Coming into this program I wasn’t aware if academia was right for me. I grew up with some learning disabilities. Because of this, school was always a giant hurdle for me and I never really got the best grades. So when I say that I was hesitant to dive head first into upper level education, I mean it. PREP really did give me a lot of help in making me feel confident in knowing what I was getting into. I now have a great understanding of the inner workings of graduate school that I was not taught during my time as an undergrad.

My previous work has been in entomology and creating novel pipelines with transcriptomics data. We used statistical modeling to assemble transcriptomes in a high throughput manner. This was mostly done in a dry lab and really got me interested with research in bioinformatics. The main goal of the lab was to apply statistics in a biology setting.

I also work in a plant pathology lab that specializes in post translational modification with mass spectrometry. This was where I spent some time in a wet lab environment. The goal of the lab was to apply arabidopsis biochemical pathway to maize. This is where I got to work on my own projects and I enjoyed the freedom that came with working in a research lab.

I currently work in Dr. Kannan’s lab at UGA. His lab specializes in using computational tools to explore kinases across species. I personally create evolutionary tools to aid in finding relationships among different kinases throughout the tree of life. We utilize computational tools ranging from machine learning to molecular dynamics to achieve our goals. This lab really gives me the opportunity to work with all types of scientists. I really like the environment in lab and at UGA and I feel like it gives me everything I need to thrive.

Hello, my name is Blake Vilchez. I was born in Lima, Peru and moved to Texas in 2004. While growing up, I began to develop an interest in infectious disease after reading about Dr. John Snow and the cholera epidemic in London in a kids’ science magazine. This interest stayed with me and led me to attend New Mexico State University where I graduated with a B.S. in Microbiology in December 2018. In my undergrad at New Mexico State University, I joined Dr. Geoffrey Smith’s lab where I worked on developing a technique for sterilizing the surface of ancient halite crystals. The long-term goal of the experiment was to study equally ancient halobacterium in liquid inclusion within the crystals. We did not want to damage any bacteria within the crystal but needed to ensure that modern bacteria dwelling on the surface would not contaminate our sample. By being able to look at ancient bacteria we would be able to learn more about how they have evolved over time. I was also able to learn much more about viruses and bacteria through passionate professors and focus my interest to zoonotic viruses. As my research experience drew to a close, I knew that I wanted to focus on infectious disease, and I wanted to acquire research experience on the field before applying to a graduate program. On my search for research opportunities, I came across the PREP@UGA program funded by the NIH. This post-baccalaureate research program at the University of Georgia, allowed me to come in contact with investigators working with infectious diseases of zoonotic potential and I joined the Rajão/Perez Lab located at the Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center (PDRC). The lab focuses on avian, human and swine influenza research and is led by Dr. Daniel Perez and Dr. Daniela Rajão.

During my time at the lab, I have been working under the direction of Dr. Stivalis Cardenas Garcia, the Assistant Research Scientist at the lab. During the first months, I was trained on basic laboratory techniques related to infectious diseases and molecular biology. Later on, my mentor assigned me the task of developing a live attenuated avian influenza virus of H7N3 subtype for its potential use as a vaccine against highly pathogenic avian influenza H7N3 in poultry. The main goal of this project is to generate a live attenuated vaccine with impaired ability to replicate in the lower respiratory tract of birds and with impaired reassortment potential. My job here has been to generate a plasmid containing temperature sensitive mutations adopted from other viruses developed at the lab, virus rescue and stock preparation. I am currently rescuing two more viruses with the same features but expressing H7-Hemagglutinin and N3-Neuraminidase of different origin. In the upcoming months I will conduct in vitro characterization to test their suitability to move to in vivo studies. Through this project I have learned several molecular virology techniques such as molecular cloning, enzymatic digestion, dephosphorylation, DNA purification, transformation, PCR, virus propagation in eggs and cell culture, hemagglutination assays, titration of virus stocks in cells and eggs, maintenance of cell lines, and necropsies.

My goal is to enter a PhD program that will allow me to focus on the study of zoonotic viruses and their mechanisms of adaptation to the human population and interspecies transmission. With this I hope to contribute to the understanding about the emergence of diseases causing epidemic or pandemic episodes around the world. Later on, I would like to pursue a carrier in biosecurity working for the federal government using my skills and knowledge to aid in disease prevention and control.

Hello, my name is Magdalena Argomaniz and I was born in Guanajuato, Mexico but raised in Idaho. I graduated from Idaho State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology. During my undergraduate career I had a difficult time finding my path, however after taking an immunology course I fell in love with this topic and wished to learn more. After discovering my interest in Immunology, I sought out research experiences to expand my knowledge as well as prepare me to be a scientific researcher. I began with an internship at Idaho State University with Dr. Kinta Serve, her lab focused on the effects asbestos fibers have on immune cells. Specifically, I observed B cell differentiation in response to asbestos exposure. though I learned valuable skills during my time in Dr. Kinta Serve’s lab, I knew I needed to further develop my intellectual and technical capabilities to be competitive for graduate programs. After graduating I applied to the NIH Post Baccalaureate Research Program at the University of Georgia. Currently, I have a position at the University of Georgia in Dr. Chester Joyner’s lab. The Joyner lab conducts research on the parasite Plasmodium vivax, which is a major cause of malaria. The long-term goal of this project is to utilize the Aotus nancymaae model of Plasmodium vivax infection to discover biomarkers of infection and new vaccine candidates for Plasmodium vivax, an important human malaria parasite. My project contributed to this goal by characterizing the antibody response using a protein microarray composed of over 1,000 Plasmodium antigens. My time in the PREP program has prepared me for the challenges that will lie ahead me when I attend graduate school. PREP has allowed me to reach my goals by providing great learning and research opportunities. This program has provided me with a platform to become a biomedical researcher who will produce innovative and collaborative ideas.

My name is Morgan Friedman and I am from the Bay Area in California. I graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with a B.A. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Since I was young, I have always been interested in questions pertaining to disease and population health, particularly animal health. I initially intended on pursuing a degree of veterinary medicine after graduation however, through my various research and academic experiences, I found that I was more passionate for research than a career in medicine. This revelation came later in my academic career and the change left me with little time to fully develop my skills as a research scientist. However, through PREP, I have been able to build upon my skillset for studying animal health, disease ecology, and parasitology.

Previously, I worked in the Taylor Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder where I studied the Leucocytozoon presence in black flies (Simuliidae) collected in the Colorado Front Range. I was also a member of the field crew which examined the life history and mating of black-capped (Poecile atricapillus) and mountain chickadees (Poecile gambeli). My experience in this lab drove me to continue to explore questions in disease ecology and wildlife health. My time in the Taylor Lab was brief due to my graduation, so I joined PREP shortly after graduating to gain further research experience and prepare for my PhD.

I am currently a member of Dr. Christopher Cleveland’s lab within the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) at the University of Georgia. There, I am conducting a multi-seasonal survey of ixodid tick biodiversity in Chad, Africa. I am particularly interested in investigating how vector ranges are impacted by ecological change and anthropogenic influence, like land-use change and disturbance. Additionally, I work on projects examining the prevalence of various tick-borne pathogens (i.e., Rickettsia) in vectors and hosts through molecular techniques, such as PCR. I have also had the opportunity to work on a field study of invasive arthropods, further strengthening my diverse research skillset. Thanks to support from PREP and the Cleveland Lab, I have also given several academic talks on my research in progress. Overall, my time at SCWDS under Dr. Cleveland has been an avenue to explore the many aspects of animal health and parasitology and preparation for my transition into a PhD program.  After completing the PREP program, I will begin my PhD at the University of Georgia with Dr. Cleveland remaining as my PI and mentor.

Hello, my name is Ariana Jimenez and I graduated from Oglethorpe University with a B.S. in Biology.

When beginning my undergraduate career in Biology, I knew that I wanted to help people and thought becoming a physician was the best way to accomplish this goal. I later learned that no matter what task you perform, in some way you are helping people. My academic advisor and later laboratory mentor Dr. Alford showed me that performing research helps answer bigger questions that can be applied to multiple different fields. My interest in research started in the Genetic Engineering course I took junior year where Dr. Alford incorporated her research into the lab portion of the course. From this experience I grew more curious of the possibilities of research and worked in her lab full time the following summer and throughout my senior year where I studied the structure and function of ciliary assembly through techniques such as immunoblotting and immunofluorescence microscopy. At the close of the summer, I decided I wanted to pursue my PhD in the biological sciences because I found joy in the challenges and support that come with lab work. My overarching research interest is to continue asking molecular and cellular questions and apply the findings wherever necessary. Although the lab life may seem like an endless cycle of the same steps day-to-day to onlookers, in the lab each day was different, and this notion is what motivated me to continue forward with pursuing a PhD with the long-term goal of establishing my own lab in an academia setting.

I joined the PREP@UGA program to gain additional research experience as well as broaden the scope of my research interests. I feel as though I just scratched the surface of my potential during my undergrad and hope that during my time here at UGA I will gain the skills and knowledge necessary to make me a competitive graduate school applicant and a well-rounded scientist.

I am currently working in the lab of Dr. Melinda Brindley under the mentorship of a 5^th year graduate student Marissa Acciani. My primary project focuses on investigating the role of cellular flippases in Ebola virus entry through using techniques such as basic tissue cell culture, flow cytometry, and end-point dilution assays.

My name is Ela Mitchell and I was born in Jamaica, but raised in Brooklyn, New York. I attended Cornell University where I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Society.

I started my research in the social sciences, with a strong interest in biological and evolutionary anthropology. In high school I loved learning about species adaptation in humans and hominids. As my interest in species adaptation grew deeper and more specific, a mentor helped me realize that genetics and the factors that govern gene expression was where my true interest lay.

Since then I’ve worked in a variety of labs studying genetics and genomics. I started in Dr. Darell Killian’s lab at Colorado College, looking at the role of post-transcriptional gene regulation in dendrite morphogenesis. I then did an REU at the University of Georgia and worked in Dr. Michael Tern’s Lab looking at CRISPR, an adaptive immune system seen in prokaryotes. CRISPR is also a powerful and precise genome-editing tool. I completed another REU at the University of Utah with Dr. Tom Lane studying disease progression in preclinical mouse models of multiple sclerosis. At Cornell, I worked with Dr. Mariana Wolfer looking at the genes that contribute to egg activation in drosophila.

During my senior year of college I helped coordinate Cornell University’s hackathon, a 36 hour non-stop event where undergraduate students gather to create novel mechanical or app designs that address real-word issues, from environmental sustainability to disparities in health care access. During this event I got to see the potential that machine learning would have in both medicine and research. I wanted to learn more about the technology industry and upon graduation I worked at a recruiting startup that built algorithms to rid the industry of discrimination and bring equity to the hiring process.

While deeply passionate about research, I am equally passionate about medicine. I ping-ponged between either for a career until I discovered MD-PhD programs. I am excited to be a PREP participant because it will help me develop my skills to be a more competitive applicant for MD-PhD programs. I look forward to a rewarding career as a physician scientist one day.