Microbiologist
Email: kaitly6@clemson.edu
Kaitlyn
Biosketch
Kaitlyn obtained her B.S. in Biochemistry at West Virginia University. While there, she worked in a molecular genetics lab; her research focus was investigating the effects of overexpressing and silencing relevant promoter genes of the anticancer glyceollin metabolic pathway in soybean. After graduating, she took a molecular technician position at the University of Texas at Austin in the Invasive Species Research Lab. Her main research project was to perform Sanger sequencing and assist with phylogenetic analysis of Pseudacteon flies. While working full-time, she completed an M.S. in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University Online in December 2020. She then took a position as a Lab Specialist at the Clemson University Genomics and Bioinformatics Facility, where she performed all molecular genomics work for the facility. In her previous position, she worked with researchers across multiple colleges at Clemson University to perform next-generation sequencing. She worked closely with the Clemson University REDDI Lab to create a workflow for RNA extraction and next-generation sequencing of positive COVID-19 samples.
Research
Kaitlyn is interested in learning more about genetics in models of human disease. Her previous research has included topics ranging from the effect of gene expression on metabolic pathways, phylogenetics, and variant surveillance and recombinant variants of COVID-19. She enjoys expanding her knowledge of molecular techniques and helping design and improve molecular workflows for sequencing. Kaitlyn will be working in the Mackay-Anholt lab, assisting with molecular work.