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Caroline Keroack
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 This was my halloween costume this year, a heart worm of course! |
Education M.S. Biological Sciences (Anticipated May, 2016) B.A., Biological Sciences; B.A., Chemistry (Received May, 2014) |
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Selected Awards & Honors 2015 Best Student Presentation for “Assessing the Spread of Seal Heartworm Using Molecular Techniques”, New England Association of Parasitologists 2015 Outstanding Student Paper Award for “Absence of Wolbachia in Seal Heartworm (Acanthocheilonema spirocauda) with Evidence of Lateral Gene Transfer”, American Society of Parasitologists 2015 Ester Carpenter Award for general biology 2014 Yi Tan and Qingfu Zeng Memorial Award For Excellence, Cell Signaling Technology, Inc 2014 Margaret Temple Brigham Award for excellence in microbiology and immunology Publications Keroack, C. Wurster, J. Decker, C. Slatko, B. Foster, J. Williams, S. “Absence of the Filarial Endosymbiont Wolbachia in Seal Heartworm (Acanthocheilonema spirocauda) but Evidence of Lateral Gene Transfer. 2015. Journal of Parasitology. Accepted. Keroack, C. “Nematode Parasites of Marine Mammals: Phylogenetic and Statistical Analysis of Coevolution” Smith College, Honors Thesis. 2014. |
 After an amazing trip to the American Society for Parasitologists conference in Omaha, NE, where I had the pleasure of giving a talk about my work on absence Wolbachia in seal heart worm, I was honored with one of two awards for Outstanding Student Paper! If you ever have a change to go to Omaha, definitely check out the zoo! |
 My team – the Marine Mammal Parasite People! |
Current Research I am currently sequencing and annotating mitochondrial genomes of marine mammal parasites for phylogenetic analysis and diagnostic assay development. Additionally, I am working on confirming the spread of particular marine mammal parasites beyond their normal host range using molecular techniques. A third branch of my team’s research focuses on the evolutionary relationship between filarial parasites of wildlife and the endosymbiont Wolbachia. |
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Research Interests – Parasitology, Infectious Disease – Wild Life Disease Biology, Zoonosis – Marine Biology – Coevolution, Phylogenetics, Systematics |
 This is an intestinal nematode of a harp seal, collected by the Mystic Aquarium. We take a small portion of every nematode we receive to isolate DNA and ultimately determine the species using single gene “barcodes”: information that we then relay back to the collecting agencies. To date, we have received parasites from the Mystic Aquarium, New England Aquarium, Pacific Marine Mammal Center, the National Marine Life Center, and the North East Fisheries Service. |
 A sample of my work- a self portrait painted during my sophomore year as an undergraduate at Smith College. |
General Interests Swimming, painting, cooking |
One of my incredible undergraduates, Kalani Williams, and I working on preparing master mix for PCR.