Megan Levy is a graduate student in the Molecular and Cellular Biology program, and is an MD-PhD student through the University of Washington.
Megan grew up in Somers, New York, but spent the best part of every summer in the woods near Ithaca, NY at her grandparent’s house. It was there that she fell in love with biology, in the form of a pond full of newts, frogs, and turtles, and a slew of (somewhat) more domesticated animals (read: well-spoiled pets). She worked with a wildlife rehabilitator, and got to help hand-rear orphaned birds prior to release - resulting in a lifelong passion for birding.
She followed her passion for animals to the University of Maryland, where she majored in animal science intending to pursue veterinary medicine prior to realizing she preferred talking to patients. She became fascinated by all the ways human and animal health are connected, and by how much zoonotic viruses have taught us about medicine. After her Junior year, she started working in the lab of Dr. Xiaoping Zhu, studying how membrane transport receptors can aid in vaccine development. When she graduated, her newfound excitement for vaccine research led her to the National Institutes of Health, where she worked with Dr. Cyril Le Nouen in the RNA Viruses Section led by Dr. Ursula Buchholz. In her 7 total years in and around Washington, DC, she developed a deep attachment to the city, its fervent love of political engagement, and all its free museums.
Megan’s thesis work focuses on how an innate immune protein called MxA interacts with the proteins of orthomyxoviruses (like Influenza) to restrict viral replication. She’s interested in what strategies are available to the protein in the molecular arms race underlying host-pathogen interactions, and in how this contributes to barrier immunity against zoonotic spillover.
Outside of lab, Megan is still surrounded by well-spoiled pets, now three rabbits named Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme. She and her husband have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the (second) best cherry-blossomed Washington, and learning to spot all the birds frequenting the West coast.