Rockies and High Plains Vector-borne Diseases Center Summer Internship

Hi everyone! My name is Sabrina Nogula, and I’m currently pursuing my MPH in Environmental and Occupational Health at the Colorado School of Public Health on the CU Anschutz campus. This summer, I’ll be working with Jefferson County Public Health on mosquito surveillance and vector-borne disease control as part of the RaHP VEC program. Before grad school, I earned my B.S. in Biology with a minor in Marine Studies from Southern Connecticut State University, where I also played soccer. During my undergrad, I interned at the Werth Center for Coastal and Marine Studies, where I collected biodiversity and water quality data from Long Island Sound. That experience introduced me to the world of environmental monitoring and sparked my interest in protecting public and ecological health. Since moving to Colorado, I’ve become especially interested in how environmental factors, like climate change and pollution, interact with disease transmission. I’m really looking forward to gaining more hand...

Hi everyone! My name is Rebecca Blackwood and I'm an MPH student at the Colorado School of Public Health, CU Anschutz campus. Starting next week, I'll be working with Jefferson County Public Health on their West Nile surveillance for the summer.  A little about me - I graduated with a bachelor's in molecular and cell biology and immunology from UC Berkeley in 2020. After spending some time in a covid diagnostics lab in Lake Tahoe, I moved to Colorado in 2021 and have spent the last 3.5 years working for a biotech company developing a point-of-need diagnostic device for the pre-symptomatic detection of infectious disease. While I loved my time in biotech, I'm really looking forward to getting field work experience with RaHP VEC.  In my free time, you can find me out in the mountains backpacking, biking, skiing, or climbing. I love a good book and enjoy making extremely mediocre artwork. Looking forward to reading all your blog posts and hearing about your experiences thi...

 Hi everyone, My name is Matt Yutrzenka and I am currently a masters student at Utah State University in Logan Utah. I will be working with the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District over the summer, looking at patterns of resistance with the use of bioassays and genetic markers. I got my BA in Ecology and Evolution at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023. Since then I have mainly been working on projects regarding invasive species.  Last summer I worked in Yellowstone Park on the lake trout removal project, however, my long term goal is to become more involved in vector biology. Through this internship, I am looking forward to gaining more hands on experience with mosquito control. I am interested in this work from both a genetics perspective and also a public health and management perspective. In my time off I like to be doing anything active or outdoors. Usually I'll be fly fishing, skiing, or running.  Matt

Hi everyone! My name is Sam Meyer, and I’m going to be interning at the RaHP VEC in Delta, Colorado. I just wrapped up my freshman year at the Colorado School of Mines, where I’m studying Biochemical Engineering. I’m really looking forward to contributing to our work this summer, especially in trapping mosquitoes and investigating how they carry and transmit diseases. My interest in infectious diseases began during the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted just how impactful these illnesses can be on individuals and entire communities. That interest became even more personal when someone in my own community contracted West Nile Virus from a mosquito bite. These experiences made me realize the serious and sometimes life-altering effects of vector-borne diseases, and inspired me to get involved in disease research and public health. Through this internship, I hope to gain hands-on experience in the field, learn more about disease surveillance and control, and deepen my understanding of ...

 Hello! I'm Morgan I'm an intern working with the RaHP VEC program in the city of Albuquerque. I recently graduated from Early College Academy highschool as well as from the Career Enrichment Center Practical Nursing program. I was inspired to join this program as I have had a lifelong fascination with diseases and how they spread. I want to pursue a career in Epidemiology research as well so it seemed like a good opportunity. I intend to attend the University of New Mexico this coming semester for a bachelor's in Chemical Biology with a minor in Forensic Science. Maybe I'll actually work part time in the ED during college, but we'll see.  Aside from professional and academic pursuits I also love videogames and tabletop RPGs. Some favorites of mine are The Witcher 3, Nier Automata, and of course D&D. I also write sometimes, I'm hoping to be able to do more of that over the summer now that I'm out of school for a while.  I also work alongside two other in...

Hi all! I am Ella Eleven, I am a recent graduate from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology with a Bachelor's in Biology. I am working with the city of Albuquerque NM and collaborating with the University of New Mexico to survey mosquito populations and test them for insecticide resistance and West Nile virus.  Last summer I did an undergraduate research program at the North Dakota State University doing lab and fieldwork with bees. Now I get to do lab and fieldwork with mosquitos! Very excited. I don't know specifically what I want to do after the summer but I'm looking out for any opportunities that come my way. So far we have done a little bit of identifying species but the main bit of work was setting up traps around the city and picking them up again. I aim to get some nice mosquito photos for my next post but right now here's me placing a 'gravid' trap: the standing dirty water attracts mosquitos wanting to lay eggs, and they get caught in the ...

  Hello! My name is Grace. I just graduated from UNC with my bachelors in cellular and molecular biology, and am getting ready to start a master's degree there in the fall.  I got really interested in infectious disease when I toured the NIH mosquito lab back in high school. This led me to joining a research lab my freshman year. I have been doing immunology research at the Inflammation lab at UNC ever since. During my third year of university I spent a year abroad in Australia where I got my first introduction into public health. Learning the inner workings of public health systems, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, was incredibly eye opening. This inspired me to pursue a career in infectious disease research that combines aspects of public health and molecular biology. My work this summer will mostly focus on mosquito vectors in Weld county, CO this year. It's my first time doing true field work and I'm incredibly excited! Ou...

 Hey all! My name is Jack Hulett, and I am a senior at Fort Lewis College. I'll be working with Animas Mosquito Control District down here in Durango this summer. I'm majoring in environmental science, which tends to be a fairly bleak rollercoaster day to day (I'm sure some of you are familiar). However, the prospect of making some sort of tangible difference regarding the realm of ESci, whether in the physical world or our mindset surrounding it, is an enticing one. Outside of class, I love to mountain bike, climb, read, and spend time with my lovely fiancé.  As there are not yet any other student responses, I'll respond to Tim; hiking the Appalachian trail is a hearty undertaking, one that I would love to take on myself one day. However, I'm also aware that it takes no prisoners and would likely make an example of me. 

Hello there! My name is Tim Burton ( the one and only ), and I'm the program manager for the RaHP VEC training and evaluation center. I'll be participating in these blog posts  from time to time through the summer, mostly about happenings at the center and describing my work mostly related to data management with our regional partners.  For now, though, a bit about me. I grew up here in Fort Collins, Colorado before attending Colorado State University, where I studied for a B.S. in Microbiology. After graduating, I spent three months thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. My intention was to finish it (and still is, one day...), but while I was somewhere in the Blue Ridge Mountains I was offered a position as a post-bac researcher at the National Institutes of Health. There, I had the opportunity to culture malaria parasites and infect mosquitoes while working with some great scientists and people. Following two years at the NIH, I enrolled in the PhD program at the University of ...