Life in the Lab: Catie Jensen

Catie Jensen

Catie Jensen is a post-baccalaureate student who graduated from GSU in 2010 with a B.A. in biology. She works in the laboratory of George Pierce, professor of applied environmental microbiology, who studies life at the molecular level.

As told to Jeremy Craig

My project is to help in vaccine development, particularly one that will, we hope, lead to a vaccine for the Ebola virus. We don't work directly with Ebola, but instead, we work with the proteins that would be necessary to create the vaccine.

I'm really excited to do this kind of work. While molecular biology is challenging, it is real-life stuff, very relevant, and something the general public can understand. I've enjoyed working in the lab at GSU. I've had a great opportunity to flourish here in a welcoming environment. We have fun together, and we work as a team. Undergraduates, master's, Ph.D. students and post doctoral researchers are not separated. We all share with one another.

I'm going to veterinary school at the University of Missouri after I'm finished here. Being in the lab has allowed me to learn more and learn faster, and it has helped me to get into veterinary school. At Missouri, I'm going to apply what I've learned here to the veterinary field.