Dr. Wendy Coy has been named iCubed’s “Featured Researcher of the Month” for February 2012. Dr. Coy is a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Rhode Island’s Center for Vector-Borne Disease (CVBD). She is currently working alongside Professor and U19 pilot project grant Principal Investigator Thomas Mather on the development of an alternative animal model for acquired tick resistance, or ATR. The CVBD hopes to develop an anti-tick vaccine while educating the public on tick-borne disease and its prevalence.

In addition to her duties at the CVBD, Dr. Coy has also lectured at iCubed’s annual Vaccine Renaissance Conference. During the 2010 gathering, she delivered a talk titled “Salivome-Derived Epitope-Driven Approach to Development of a Tick Vaccine.”

Dr. Coy hopes to build on the success of the U19 pilot project grant as well as expand the HLA transgenic mouse model for ATR to other tick-borne pathogens.

Prior to her arrival to the University of Rhode Island, Dr. Coy earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology as well as minors in English and Psychology from Indiana University. She earned her Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology with a concentration in microbiology from URI.