Student Members

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

VFCE Student

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. 
Taylor Gill
Graduate Researcher

During my time with the Valley Fever Center, I completed an internship in the BSL-3 Laboratory working with Lourdes Lewis culturing and harvesting different strains of Coccidioides. I was also given the opportunity to learn about current projects that help us understand the immunological effects of Valley fever. 
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 undergraduate 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.