Alumni Updates: Class Years 2010-19
Archive
Below are archived updates for alumni graduating between 2010 and 2019. Visit the main Alumni Updates page for more updates received this year. Month and date update received shown in parenthesis.
Karla Feghali '10 (BS - Biology) The day after graduation I started working at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research on Malaria Vaccine development as a member of the international referencing ELISA lab. We test potential vaccines from around the world to determine their effectiveness. I was fortunate enough to be able to partake in the first human Plasmodium vivax vaccine trial. I was put in charge of whole blood testing through the use of reverse transcriptase real-time PCR from extracted RNA. I designed and developed an RNA extraction protocol that was shown to be more effective then QIAGEN kits and detected parasitima levels up to 5 or 6 days before a volunteer's blood smear showed positive. This trial was featured on BBC America news and more information can be found on the BBC website. I still hope to pursue dentistry in the near future, but for the meantime I am enjoying my research! (12/10)
Dustin Glaser '10 (BS - Biology) After graduating from the College in May 2010, I traveled to San Diego to present a poster at ASM's general conference and spent the rest of the summer in Williamsburg where I finished my research with Dr. Williamson.
In Fall 2010, I moved to D.C. to attend Georgetown University, and I just graduated in May 2011 with an M.S. in Biohazardous Threat Agents & Emerging Infectious Diseases.
I am fortunate enough to now be an ORISE fellow with the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation & Research (Office of Vaccines Research & Review, Division of Viral Products, Laboratory of Retrovirus Research, Molecular Retrovirology Section). My work focuses on the safety of novel cell substrates with potential use for influenza vaccine production. I'm very excited for the opportunity, and my research with Kurt really prepared me well for this experience!
In a few years, I hope to return to school to earn my PhD in infectious disease epidemiology, hopefully with a focus on disease ecology and novel pathogen emergence. (10/11)
Katrina Mott '10 (BS - Biology) I graduated in May 2012 with a Masters of Health Science in Infectious Disease Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. My studies focused on vaccine-preventable disease burden, as well as comprehensive epidemiology methods. I'm now an ORISE Fellow at the FDA working on a public/private partnership to improve drug safety surveillance. So many opportunities have come my way thanks to the undergrad research opportunities at W&M, particularly my work with Dr. Zwollo. (10/12)
