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Molly graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) with a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Animal Science. While working on her master’s at UNR Molly published work on parasite abundance and diversity in woodrats which further piqued her interest in disease ecology and how it applies to wildlife ecology. Soon after Molly completed her master’s degree she started work in the herpetology lab at UNR helping collect tissue samples of desert tortoises to assess disease. Eventually she was hired at the USGS as a desert tortoise biologist. Here she worked on several research projects, including a project focused on disease and health of tortoise populations. For her PhD, she studied tick-borne disease in desert tortoises and how ticks and the pathogens they carry interact with their common host, the Mojave desert tortoise. In her free time she founded and volunteers with the Northern Arizona Association for Women in STEM, which advocates for equal representation of women in the sciences. She also enjoys hikes with her dog, backpacking, river rafting, climbing, yoga and enjoying everything Flagstaff and Northern Arizona has to offer.
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Awards and Outreach Highlights:
2017-present: President & Co-Founder, Northern Arizona Association for Women in STEM (NAAWiS.weebly.com)
2018-2019: College of Engineering, Forestry and Natural Sciences Graduate Student Government Representative
2018-2019: Biological Sciences (NAU) Graduate Student of the year
2018-2019: Achievement Rewards for College Scholars (ARCS) awardee
2019-2020: Achievement Rewards for College Scholars (ARCS) awardee
2020-2021: Achievement Rewards for College Scholars (ARCS) awardee
2020-2021: Pacific Southwest Center of Excellence in Vector-borne Disease (PAC VEC) Training Grant awardee
2017-present: President & Co-Founder, Northern Arizona Association for Women in STEM (NAAWiS.weebly.com)
2018-2019: College of Engineering, Forestry and Natural Sciences Graduate Student Government Representative
2018-2019: Biological Sciences (NAU) Graduate Student of the year
2018-2019: Achievement Rewards for College Scholars (ARCS) awardee
2019-2020: Achievement Rewards for College Scholars (ARCS) awardee
2020-2021: Achievement Rewards for College Scholars (ARCS) awardee
2020-2021: Pacific Southwest Center of Excellence in Vector-borne Disease (PAC VEC) Training Grant awardee
Undergraduate Research Mentees
This PhD work is made possible by several funding sources (including experiment.com and Achievement Rewards for College Scientist) and collaborations with the United States Geological Survey and University of Nevada, Reno. However, I am also lucky to have two undergraduate research mentees that help out in the lab in order to further their scientific education.
S. Hazel McGuffin
Meaghan Geiger |
Hazel is a Microbiology Undergraduate going into her last few years at Northern Arizona University. She's currently looking at pursuing a career in researching vector-borne diseases or how illness travels through populations. Experience with her dairy herd has her interested in dynamics of infectious diseases in herd animals and how they are applicable to human populations. Hazel helps run extractions and molecular analyses for Borrelia in Ornithodoros ticks. |
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Meaghan is a Junior at NAU pursuing a major in Biomedical Science with a minor in psychology. Currently she is employed by NAU as an SI for BIO 202 and as a lab technician for USGS. Meaghan assists in the lab with Molly by completing tick DNA extractions. Meaghan is interested in microbiology and infectious disease and her long-term goals include pursuing a graduate degree and a career that involves either wildlife, fieldwork, or working with the CDC studying disease ecology.
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