Tina Dao ’15 Awarded Microbiology Fellowship

Tina Dao ’15 is participating in the 2013 Undergraduate Research Fellowship (URF) Program presented by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).

The fellowship program is aimed at highly competitive students who wish to pursue graduate studies in microbiology. Students conduct full-time research with an ASM member and present research results at the ASM General Meeting the following year.

Dao is conducting research with Michael Johnson, Ph.D. and Jason Rosch, Ph.D. in the Infectious Diseases Department of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for a minimum of 10 weeks.

Her research project examines the role of the copper efflux pump and the mechanism of copper-mediated toxicity in Streptococcus pyogenes, which causes strep throat, pneumonia, bacteremia, scarlet fever, pharyngitis, and flesh eating diseases.

A biochemistry and molecular biology major, Dao is a member of the Rhodes Chapter of Gamma Sigma Epsilon Chemistry Honor Society. She is a graduate of Wooddale High School in Memphis.