Jessica A. Switzenberg, Ph.D.

Jessica completed her PhD in Genetics at Michigan State University where she worked with transgenic Cucumis melo L. (cantaloupe melon) to develop an ethylene-threshold model for floral sex expression. Her postdoctoral research looked at PBMC-derived macrophage RNA-seq data in Holstein dairy cows infected with Mycobacteria paratuberculosis (Johne’s disease) for expression changes caused by the infection. Currently, she is working on a negative regulatory element assay system to help characterize these elements in the non-coding genome. She helps manage the wet lab for Dr. Alan Boyle, and mentors graduate students, undergraduate students, and volunteers.