Congenital CMV infection is one of the leading causes of permanent developmental issues or hearing loss. In fact, in the United States, it is the most common congenital viral infection. As of the present, there is no treatment for congenital CMV infection. The project that I am currently working on investigates the mechanism of neural infection of murine cytomegalovirus (mCMV). Using the mouse model, we image the immune response of neonates to mCMV and hope to define patterns of infection to better understand its relationship to neurological disorders. I am an undergraduate in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Molecular and Cell Biology, and expect to graduate in May 2015.
