Mary Wilson

DHS Fellow Researches New Treatment Options for Deadly Hantavirus

During their adolescent years, it’s common for teenagers to spend countless hours leafing through magazines featuring the celebrities and athletes they admire. On the other hand, it is quite uncommon for teens to include the subject of public health in their summer reading lists.

Not so for Mary Jeanell Wilson—a University of Michigan graduate student concurrently pursuing a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology and a Master of Science in public health. Wilson got a jumpstart on her career as a teenager reading about medical care and disease prevention. “Growing up, I would read about field epidemiologists and the work they had done over the years to combat infectious diseases worldwide,” explained Wilson. “These people were, to me, the icons of microbiology and public health.”

It was her intense interest in microbiology and immunology that brought her to the National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense (FAZD) at the University of Texas Medical Branch—a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Center of Excellence. She participated in an internship at the center this summer as part of the DHS Scholarship and Fellowship program, which is managed by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

Hantaviruses are a public health concern worldwide and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality each year. Currently there are no effective therapeutic or prophylactic options to combat these pathogens. My research aims to better understand the genetic ‘machinery’ of these viruses in the hope of finding better treatment options.

Wilson is no stranger to the DHS Scholarship and Fellowship Program. In 2004, she was awarded a DHS scholarship while completing her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at Texas A&M University. She enjoyed her experience in the program so much that it was an easy decision to pursue a DHS fellowship.

Wilson said her experience at FAZD enabled her to focus her thesis research on characterizing the RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of New World hantaviruses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a deadly disease that humans can contract from infected rodents. HPS was first recognized in 1993 and has since been identified throughout the United States.

“Hantaviruses are a public health concern worldwide and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality each year,” explained Wilson. “Currently there are no effective therapeutic or prophylactic options to combat these pathogens. My research aims to better understand the genetic ‘machinery’ of these viruses in the hope of finding better treatment options.”

Wilson spent most of her days at the lab executing experiments and analyzing data, but also studied literature and compiled reports to support her research. Until participating in the DHS program she admitted she was unaware of the research being conducted at government facilities across the country.

“Working at FAZD, I’ve been able to learn techniques and work with samples to which I would never have had access to at my lab,” she said. “This experience has completely changed the focus and scope of my research.”

Wilson said that the DHS program provides an amazing opportunity to meet with top scientists and experience the research being conducted around the country.

“I would definitely recommend this program to others. In fact, I do all the time,” she said. “It has been a great experience for me. The research opportunities are endless!”