Cecelia Shertz

I’m Cecelia Shertz, and I started in Duke UPGG in 2008. UPGG is really great – there is no doubt in my mind that I made the right choice in coming here! The program has so many faculty with diverse interests that you’re bound to find something that you’re interested in.

I am originally from a small town in Central Pennsylvania, and I got my B.S. in Biology at Juniata College, in Huntingdon, PA. While there, I did research on a streptococcal cysteine protease called IdeS with Dr. Michael Boyle. After deciding to come to Duke, I did a summer rotation in Joseph Heitman’s lab working on basal fungal species, such as the zygomycetes and chytrids. I also rotated in Raphael Valdivia’s lab, working on host-pathogen interactions in Chlamydia. My third rotation was in Allison Ashley-Koch’s lab in the Center for Human Genetics, looking at a possible Mendelian inheritance for neural tube defects. Ultimately, I decided that fungal genetics was where my heart lies, and I joined the Heitman lab. I’m working on mechanisms of rapamycin action in zygomycetes, as well looking at various aspects of basal fungal species including Encephalitozoon cuniculi and Allomyces macrogynus.

Outside of lab, I enjoy running, Steelers football, watching or playing rugby, and reading.

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