Carolyn Stenbak, PhD

Teaching and Research Interests

Dr. Stenbak teaches the following courses:

• BIOL 1610/1611 - Introductory Biology, Cell & Molecular Biology
• BIOL 2220 - Microbiology
• BIOL 3150 - Virology
• BIOL 4150 - Immunology

Dr. Stenbak's current research interests include understanding the basic biology and transmission of Foamy viruses, non-pathogenic retroviruses that naturally infect non-human primates but can cause zoonotic infections in humans. These viruses are of particular interest for their potential as vectors for gene therapy and better understanding the details of the foamy virus life cycle can contribute to this effort. Foamy viruses are also of interest from a public health standpoint as they can be transmitted from monkeys to humans. Dr. Stenbak and collaborators are interested in tracking the transmission of foamy virus from animals to humans and identifying potential recombination events.

Biography

• B.S. in Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, WI
• Ph.D. in Microbiology, University of Washington / Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center - Seattle, WA
• Post-Doctoral Research in Innate Immunology, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique /Centre de Génétique Moléculaire - Gif -sur-Yvette, France

Previously taught at Trinity University