Jasper Gomez awarded NIH Kirschstein NRSA Fellowship
Microbiology, Genetics and Immunology graduate student Jasper Gomez was recently awarded a three-year Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (Diversity) for Individual Predoctoral Fellows (F31) which supports promising doctoral candidates who are conducting their dissertation research in a scientific health-related field.
Gomez is a researcher in Chris Waters’ lab, and his work focuses on the bacterium
that causes cholera, Vibrio cholerae.
“I am thrilled that Jasper is being recognized by this fellowship, as he is a tremendous graduate student who is doing impactful research on the coevolution of bacteria and their viruses,” Waters said.
“The overall goal of my research is to understand how viruses interact with bacteria
using Vibrio cholerae. These interactions can lead us to discover new genetic tools
and make better and more effective phage therapeutics,” Gomez said. “Phages are viruses
that infect bacteria specifically, and these viruses are able to kill their bacterial
host – they’re really good at doing what antibiotics do. So, phage therapy is a great
alternative to combat antibiotic resistance.”
This National Institutes of Health award will fund the remainder of Gomez’s dissertation
work and will enable his participation in various training and professional development
opportunities over the next three years.
