By Guillermo L. Raimundi Rodríguez, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases (LID), Viral Epidemiology and Immunology Unit (VEIU)
Before arriving at the NIH, I was a scholar at Virginia Tech’s Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) studying the pregnancy-associated adverse clinical outcomes seen in HEV-infected pregnant women in a rabbit model. I then moved to the NIH Academy Enrichment Program (formerly NAEP, now known as PEP) to improve my skills studying viruses and their interaction with the immune system. Being a postbac has taught me two substantial things: 1) to ask for help whenever you need support in keeping up with your project and your personal struggles, and 2) look around for complementary experiences to meet brilliant people and become a better scientific investigator. Through both programs, I’ve been provided an incredible amount of support to pursue my goals and met brilliant scientists that have given me tools to become a better researcher every day! Furthermore, I learned that pathogens are diverse and complex, each with its unique characteristics and respective countermeasures to combat them.
Currently, I am conducting research in the Viral Epidemiology and Immunology Unit (VEIU), which strives to understand the relationship between all 4 serotypes of dengue, Zika, Japanese Encephalitis Virus, and the phenomena of antibody-dependent enhancement that was responsible for the subsequent severe dengue infection after vaccination of certain populations. My project aims to understand the relationship between the Zika and dengue viruses, and how immunization with a Zika DNA vaccine, developed at the Vaccine Research Center (VRC), induces potent ZIKV-specific neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) while avoiding priming of cross-reactive antibodies that could potentially enhance dengue disease. I had the privilege of being selected to share my research at the NIAID 16th Annual Fellows Workshop last year and that proved to be a rewarding experience. My work and that of the VEIU is to ensure not just proper safeguarding measures like vaccines against viral diseases, but to guarantee their safety and protection without posing further threats to public health.
In the future, I’d like to work on science policy and diplomacy to battle HIV/AIDS, and the NIH has offered me many opportunities to gather insight on those areas of science at an early stage. First, I was a participant in the Health Science and Communication Program in 2022, where I met researchers and policy analysts in the Office of AIDS Research, the O’Neill Institute, Whitman-Walker and Fenway Health. Then, I was supported by the NIAID to present my project for my first in-person conference at the Annual Biomedical Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS). In both spaces, I met scientists that merged their work in science with that of healthcare law to ensure the availability of equitable and accessible resources among neglected populations. Luckily, my journey is filled with moments where I was able to capitalize on paramount experiences that have prepared me for a PhD in Virology, and I wouldn’t have made it this far had it not been because of a strong network having my back every step of the way.