April 2022 ABI Student of the Month: Sarah Mark

Hello! I’m Sarah Mark, a 4th year Animal Biology Major minoring in Global Disease Biology. My time at Davis has been filled with a myriad of activities from chairing conferences with the Davis Model United Nations Club to reporting on scientific news with the KDVS Student Radio Station. I’m also an undergraduate researcher at the Keel Lab at the UC Davis Vet School. My practicum research is an experimental infection of macaque tissue explants with canine distemper virus. I hope to demonstrate that the North American wild-circulating strain of CDV is able to successfully replicate within macaque tissue. 

 Research and the ABI program have been a huge part of my college career and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities that the ABI program has offered me. Through ABI, I’ve learned invaluable laboratory skills, patience, perseverance, and a deep respect for the field of academic research. I hope to pass on what I’ve learned through my work with the University Honors Program as an Undergraduate Research Advisor, aiding third year UHP students in crafting their own research projects and obtaining their Honors Thesis goals. As with many ABI students I’m on the preveterniary tract and intend to apply to veterinary school after a gap year. Navigating the world of research can be intimidating, but I know that the skills in critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity that I gained from ABI will continue to grow and aid me in my future endeavors, academic and otherwise.