The University of Texas Medical Branch Presents One Health Newsletter

Jessica Rodriguez is a PhD candidate in Epidemiology with a focus on Genomics and Bioinformatics at The University of Texas Health Science Center School of Public Health. She holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology with a minor in Biostatistics from the same institution, and dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and English Literature from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Over a seven-year period, Jessica has accumulated considerable experience in conducting public health research. Her work has involved wastewater surveillance for microbes, and laboratory adaptation of various molecular diagnostic assays including those for SARS-CoV-2. She also has experience conducting molecular sequencing, running ELISA assays, performing chemical/molecular analysis, and in profiling pathogen biomarkers. She is passionate about addressing health disparities and improving health outcomes for underserved, minority populations.

Jessica is now a Research Associate in the One Health Laboratory at UTMB under Dr. Gregory Gray, and serves as the Editor for the One Health Newsletter.

Tamika Simmons, HTL-ASCP, is a certified histotechnologist with an immunohistochemistry, histopathology and biomarker detection background. She is part of the Biorepository/Research histology team at UTMB and works on various projects involving infectious diseases, neurobiology and translational medicine. Tamika's passion is mental health biomarker research and applies a One Health approach to look at how immune responses and environmental factors impact health outcomes.

A U.S. Army veteran, Tamika was a CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) Specialist in the military and gained experience in CBRN detection, biosafety, lab procedures and emergency response. She has a B.A. in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from the University of North Texas and has worked in mental health clinics & academic and clinical labs applying her skills in multiple research areas.

Timothy Wanninger is a MD/PhD student who studies the immune response and infectious diseases, aids investigation of the human/animal/environmental health interface, and contributes to specialized care for infectious diseases.

Timothy engages in multiple projects, including studies on inflammatory liver diseases, Arenavirus pathogenicity, and his thesis work on macrophages in Ebola virus disease. He also writes for UTMB’s One Health Newsletter and assists with infectious disease preparedness as part of the Special Pathogens Excellence in Clinical Treatment Readiness & Education Program.

Timothy holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Biochemistry from Regis University in Denver, CO. He completed post-baccalaureate work in the lab of John Mascola, MD at the Vaccine Research Center (NIAID) as part of the NIH Intramural Research Training Award program. Timothy is currently completing his PhD training in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology under the mentorship of Heather Stevenson-Lerner, MD, PhD and Slobodan Paessler, DVM, PhD. He has received a TL1 Fellowship from the Institute for Translational Sciences at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Timothy-Wanninger

Welcome, Tim!

Austin Weynand, MHS is a 1st year medical student at the University of Texas Medical Branch. He graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Arts studying chemistry and economics, and received his Master of Health Science in Epidemiology on the Infectious Disease Track from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2021.

Austin’s research interests include emerging and endemic infectious diseases, particularly respiratory and tropical infections. His epidemiology research experience includes evaluating non-pharmaceutical interventions on pediatric deaths from malaria in northern Zambia with the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute (JHMRI) and ICEMR. He also worked with the Johns Hopkins Center of Excellence in Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS) as a data analyst to study the burden of influenza-like illnesses in southern Zambia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Austin is an avid hiker, camper, runner and writer. He lives with his wife in League City, Texas. Long-term, he would like to work as a physician-scientist in Texas while maintaining research connections abroad.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-weynand-mhs-682434108/