Alexandria M. Carter B.S.

MSTP M.D./Ph.D. Candidate

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Current Position

June 2022-present Ph.D. Candidate

June 2020-present MSTP M.D. student

Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Indiana University School of Medicine

Indianapolis, IN, USA

almocart(at)iu.edu

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Training

2018-2020 Clinical Research Assistant

Division of Infectious Diseases

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA

Supervisor Dr. Abigail Norris Turner and Dr. Jose Bazan

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2014-2018 Bachelor of Science (Honors)

Department of Molecular Genetics

The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

Supervisor Dr. Michael Caligiuri

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Research Interests

My passion for international public health formed during my undergraduate career when I studied public health and HIV in India and Tanzania. I was struck by the unique challenges and needs of delivering medical care in the developing world and realized that innovative biomedical research solutions were needed to address the needs of these populations. At the time I was working as a student researcher in Dr. Michael Caligiuri’s lab group at The Ohio State University (OSU) where I was helping establish a novel multiple myeloma immunotherapy drug. While I enjoyed molecular biology research, I grappled with how to combine my clinical and public health interests with my biomedical training. To answer this question, I began working at OSU’s Division of Infectious Disease as a Clinical Research Assistant for Drs. Abigail Norris Turner and Jose Bazan after graduation. Here, I worked as a member of a multidisciplinary team including infectious disease clinicians, epidemiologists, and microbiologists to investigate an emerging sexually transmitted Neisseria meningitidis strain. Working at the intersection of these fields, we could swiftly and effectively address our research objectives while maintaining agility and flexibility within our project design, and I realized I wanted to bridge these fields in my own career.

 

The culmination of these experiences inspired me to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. in infectious diseases where I could use my molecular biology background to answer research questions relevant to clinical practice and emerging pathogens in the developing world. During my Ph.D. work in the Richer lab, I will further this goal by investigating the immunopathogenesis of Zika virus and how its evolution may have aided in immune evasion mechanisms. This work will help lay the foundation for further understanding Zika virus infection and ultimately encourage better measures to counteract Zika outbreaks.

 

Outside of the lab, I enjoy recreating Great British Bake Off challenges, exploring downtown Indianapolis biking trails, traveling to 12+ countries, and seeing lots of concerts.

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Publications

Pardy, RD, ME Gentile, AM Carter, SA Condotta, IL King and MJ Richer. An epidemic Zika virus isolate drives enhance T follicular helper cell and B cell-mediated immunity. Journal of Immunology 2022: 208(7): 1719-1728. PMID: 35346966.

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Bazan JA, YL Tzeng, DS Stephens, AM Carter, MA Brown, B Snyder, DJ Prince and AN Turner. Repeat Episodes of Symptomatic Urethritis due to a Uropathogenic Meningococcal Clade. Sexually Transmitted Diseases 2020: 47(1): e1-e4. PMID: 31651709. 

 

Chan WK, S Kang, Y Youssef, EN Glanker, ER Barrett, AM Carter, EH Ahmed, A Prasad, L Chen, J Zhang, DM Benson, MA Caligiuri and J Yu. A novel anti-CS1-NKG2D bispecific antibody collectively activates cytolytic immune cells against multiple myeloma. Cancer Immunology Research 2018: 6(7): 776-787. PMID: 29769244. 

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Carter, AM. Construction, expression and functional evaluation of chimeric NKG2D receptor in murine NK cells. The Ohio State University Knowledge Bank. Undergraduate honors thesis. The Ohio State University. Defended May 2018.