Student Members

Any individual currently enrolled in a degree-conferring training program at the University of Arizona.

VFCE Student

Brooke Byars

I am a PhD student working with Dr. Jon Chorover on characterizing soils harboring Coccidioides to better understand its ecological niche and distribution in endemic areas. Our goal, through collaboration, is to develop a predictive map of Coccidioides in the state of Arizona. We are also working to identify soil and atmospheric conditions conducive to the growth and aerosolization of Coccidioides in the environment. 
Shaakshi Dubey
Undergraduate Researcher

I am an undergraduate researcher working with Dr. Orbach and Dr. Shubitz on testing if the Valley fever vaccine can protect against other di-morphic fungi like Blastomyces and Histoplasma. 
Rebecca Foley

I am currently working on a quality improvement project with a community primary health care organization to improve early diagnosis and management of Valley fever in primary care settings. 
Zoe Hatch
Student Office Assistant

I have worked as the Student Office Assistant for the VFCE since 2020, supporting our administrative team. One of my main roles is to act as a liaison between our team and the public. I do this by maintaining our website, updating and monitoring our social media pages, and communicating with community members that contact our center. Recently, I have begun helping our team in the laboratory setting and hope to continue to expand my skills in this environment. I will be working on my master's of public health starting in Fall 2024, with a focus on environmental and occupational health.
Sydney Robbins
Undergraduate Researcher

I am an AMP accelerated master's student researcher working in the Buntzman lab focusing on the development of precision cell therapeutics for treating Valley fever. 
Devin Seka
Graduate Researcher

I am a graduate student in the Tomasiak Lab in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at the University of Arizona. I work on determining the function of a gene in the fungus that causes Valley fever.  I use structural techniques such as cryogenic electron microscopy (CryoEM) and biochemical assays to uncover the activity of the virulence factor, Cps1. 
Abigail Whitlock
Undergraduate Researcher

I am an undergraduate student working with Dr. Leroy, Dr. Donovan, and Dr. Galgiani on a project using the All-of-Us database to better identify markers or predictors of Valley fever. We focused on the use of ICD-10 codes vs. clinical tests for diagnosis of Valley fever for application in machine learning. 
Ian Wingerchuck
Undergraduate Researcher

I am an undergraduate researcher working with Dr. Donovan and Dr. Galgiani to organize and sort blood samples within the biorepository.
Rachel Wu
Undergraduate Researcher

I am an undergraduate researcher working with Dr. Donovan to develop flow charts and infographics to spread awareness about Valley fever and aid physicians in diagnosing it more quickly.