Undergraduate Research Experience
B.S. from University of Arkansas 2010-2012
University of Nevada, Reno 2008-2010
University of Nevada, Reno 2008-2010
I was the lead small mammal technician on a project for Dr. Robert Gitzen that involved small mammal trapping in the Black Hills (South Dakota) after a controlled burn season. The presence and absence of small mammals in relation to habitat data were used to measure the effect fire damage has on available habitat. Summer 2012 |
Under the guidance of Drs. Wesley Stites, Jackson Lay, and Tina Hatley-Merritt I investigated a protein present in the saliva of ticks that potentially caused an allergic reaction following the consumption of red meat. This involved travel to Oklahoma State University to use laboratory fed and reared ticks to extract saliva for mass spectrometry analysis. Fall 2011 - Spring 2012 |
At the University of Nevada, Reno in Dr. Mike Teglas' lab I was involved in multiple tick-borne pathogen projects. Tissue from deceased cattle and deer were tested for multiple Borrelia spp. Ticks, both soft (Argasidae) and hard (Ixodidae), collected via dry ice from various habitats were tested for multiple pathogens including Borrelia, Bartonella, Babesia, Anaplasma, and Rickettsia spp. In order to determine vertical transmission of Borrelia spp., I was a "tick mom" for a summer in order to do infection studies. The main project involved trapping rodents throughout northern Nevada and California and collecting blood samples that were tested for all the previously mentioned tick-borne pathogens. Quantitative PCR and gel electrophoresis were used for detection of pathogens.
Fall 2009 - Summer 2010 |