E-Insight

January 2006

Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology Welcomes New Staff Members

(This month, E-Insight begins a new section on staff profiles. All new hires to the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences are encouraged to share a little bit about themselves with their colleagues. As a test run, we have focused on the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology. We can make any needed adjustments and then, next month, go College-wide. If you have any comments or suggestions, please send an e-mail to: carol.borchert@colostate.edu .)

Deanna Scott
Deanna joined the Department on Oct. 15 as a Research Associate III, and is working under Becky Rivoire in Dr. Patrick Brennan's laboratory. She is the Quality Control Manager for the PDM (Product Development and Manufacturing Core) for the Rocky Mountain Regional Center of Excellence (RCE). She comes to CSU from Leheigh University in Bethlehem, Penn., where she was a lab manager.

Deanna is married to Willem and has two sons, Henry, age 4, and Nicholas, 17 months. Her hobbies include knitting, reading (mysteries are a favorite genre), and hiking. Her favorite quote is, "You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late." (Emerson).

Donald (Donnie) Hoff
Donnie joined the Department on Nov. 1 as a Research Associate I, and is working in Dr. Anne Lenaerts' laboratory. He graduated from CSU in May 2005 with a bachelor's degree in microbiology, and worked in Dr. Lenaerts' laboratory until coming on full time. He is primarily responsible for testing potential drug compounds against tuberculosis and is also developing an experiment to test early bacteriocidal activity in murine models.

Donnie's hobbies include skiing and playing bass guitar, and his favorite books are by the author Stephen King.

Kirsa Sommersted
Kirsa joined the Department on Nov. 14 as a Research Associate I in the lab of Dr. Angelo Izzo. Kirsa is assigned to the vaccine contract and her primary responsibility is assisting in the testing of tuberculosis vaccine candidates. She comes to CSU from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley where she received her master's degree biological sciences last August.

Kirsa is originally from Denmark and has been a U.S. citizen since 2001. She enjoys knitting and also is a painter, working on illustrations for a series of children's books. Illustrating a book on cougars is her current project. Kirsa and her husband Kevin have two children, daughter Kadra, age 7, and son Khobe, age 5.

Wade Whitcomb
Wade joined the Department on Nov. 17 as a Research Associate II in the laboratory of Dr. Richard Slayden. He oversees daily progress and management of the RCE Genomics/Proteomics Core, serves as lab manager and safety officer, and is developing and implementing new post-genomic techniques. He comes to CSU from Applied Biosystems Inc. where he was a field service engineer.

Wade and his wife Michelle have two children, daughter Victoria, age 5, and son Adam, age 2. His hobbies include country dancing and horses. His favorite movie is "Superman," and his favorite quote is, "The difference between a man and a boy is the size of his feet."

Ann Hunt
Ann joined the Department on Jan. 1 as a Research Associate III in the laboratory of Dr. Carol Blair. She provides technical support for research involving characterization of human monoclonal antibodies to determine their use in antiviral prophylaxis and therapy for a research project funded through the RCE. She comes to CSU from the Centers for Disease Control, Division of Vector-borne Infectious Diseases.

Ann is married and has two adult children. She is a graduate of CSU, receiving her master's of science degree in 1977. She loves being out-of-doors whether it's gardening, hiking, skiing or playing tennis. She also enjoys reading, indoor plants (including an orchid collection, bonsai trees and other tropical plants), and traveling. She has climbed 49 of Colorado 's 54 fourteeners (mountains in the state classified as higher than 14,000 feet), and is working on the final five.

Jared Bodecker
Jared joined the Department on Jan. 1 as a Research Associate in the laboratory of Dr. Jonathan Carlson. He provides technical support for research involving densoviruses. His responsibilities include mosquito husbandry, molecular cloning, and bioprocess engineering. He comes to the Department from the Department of Biology in the College of Natural Sciences at CSU where he worked in the labs of Drs. Marinus Pilon and June Medford.

Jared came to Colorado 11 years ago with his mother, leaving the rest of the family behind in California. He's involved in indoor soccer clubs, enjoys snowboarding in the winter, and camping and hiking in the summer. As one who left the land of shorts and sandals for the land of boots and three layers of clothes -- after an initial period of adjustment -- he's come to love Fort Collins and Colorado.

Katrina Quinn
Katrina joined the Department on Jan.1 as a Research Associate I in the laboratory of Dr. Herbert Schweizer. Her primary responsibilities are projects dealing with the molecular biology and genetics of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. She most recently worked in Dr. John Belisle's laboratory.

Katrina is married - her husband's name is David - and in her spare time she enjoys bicycling, gardening and animal rescue work. Most recently, she spent six weeks in Louisiana assisting a humane organization with hurricane victims.