Elizabeth Spear

Elizabeth.Spear@cuanschutz.edu

"I am excited to begin my training as an RNA Jedi Knight under the tutelage of Master Jeff Kieft as I have taken an interest in the importance of viral RNAs. Specifically, I plan to look at how xrRNA structures located in the 3'UTR of flavivirus RNAs coordinate with one another to create infection-important sfRNAs. I also want to look at how these sfRNA dampen the immune response in different hosts. These are important questions to understanding how flavivirus infection leads to pathogenic outcomes."​

When Elizabeth is not studying, she likes to play video games while cuddled up with her two dogs. Favorites: Final Fantasy XIV, Animal Crossing, old-school Pokémon, and Skyrim. She also takes her Disney fandom seriously and would spend every vacation at a Disney Park if she could. Elizabeth is also working on her snowboarding skills...please don't break anything!