Clara Young

Clara is a PhD student in the UCSD Biomedical Sciences Program in the lab of Matthew Daugherty in the Biological Sciences Department. Her academic career began at Iowa State University, where she studied animal science and received a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree (DVM). Clara concurrently received a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from the University of Iowa, where she recognized her broad interest in zoonotic diseases and their drivers. In the Daugherty lab, Clara is interested in leveraging evolutionary analysis to compare innate immune pathogen detection mechanisms between humans and animals, specifically those acting as viral reservoirs, to determine the molecular and genetic underpinnings of viral tolerance. Her current project is focused on characterizing a novel innate viral sensor that is absent in humans. Within the specialization, she is interested in studying further how host-pathogen interactions have influenced primate evolution.