School of Graduate Studies

MD-PhD Program

2022%2012:35:53%20PM

Name: Kourtney Weaver

Year in Program: 1st Year Graduate Student

Hometown: Harvey, LA

Education: B.S. in Biological Sciences with Honors in Biology, University of New Orleans, LA

Department: Physiology

Mentor: Flavia Souza-Smith, PhD & Patricia Molina, MD, PhD

Past Research Experience:

LSU Health Sciences Center- New Orleans:

  • Medical Student Researcher, Summer 2021
    • Mentor: Dr. Flavia Souza-Smith
    • Project: Role of Lymph from Alcohol-Treated Animals on Naïve Perilymphatic Adipose Tissue Immunomodulation
  • Medical Student Researcher, Summer 2020
    • Mentor: Dr. Pamela Kozlowski
    • Project: Early Antibody Responses to SARS CoV-2 Infection in Non-Human Primates
  • Undergraduate Researcher, Summer 2018
    • Mentor: Dr. Angela Amedee
    • Project: The Effects of Chronic Binge Alcohol on Viral Reservoir Maintenance in Gastrointestinal Tissues of SIV-infected Rhesus Macaques

University of New Orleans:

  • Undergraduate Researcher, Spring 2018- Fall 2019
    • Mentor: Dr. Wendy Schluchter
    • Senior Honors Thesis: Investigation of the Amino Acids Responsible for Isomerase Activity in the Bilin Lyase MpeW from Synechococcus sp. A15-62

University of Massachusetts Medical School:

  • Undergraduate Researcher, Summer 2019
    • Mentor: Dr. Andrea Reboldi
    • Project: Mucosal Memory B Cells

Publications:

  1. Indika Kumarapperuma, Kes Lynn Joseph, Cong Wang, Linta M. Biju, Irin P. Tom, Kourtney D. Weaver, Théophile Grébert, Frédéric Partensky, Wendy M. Schluchter, Xiaojing Yang, Crystal structure and molecular mechanism of an E/F type bilin lyase-isomerase, Structure, 2022, ISSN 0969-2126, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.str.2022.01.007.

 

  1. Shaan Lakshmanappa, Y., Elizaldi, S.R., Roh, J.W. Jamin W. Roh, Brian A. Schmidt, Timothy D. Carroll, Kourtney D. Weaver, et al. SARS-CoV-2 induces robust germinal center CD4 T follicular helper cell responses in rhesus macaques. Nat Commun 12, 541 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20642-x

Current Research Interest: Chronic alcohol effects on mesenteric lymphatics and adipose tissue immunometabolism; regulatory T cells; alcoholic liver disease

Current Medical Interest: Gastroenterology, Nephrology, Transplant Medicine

Career Goal: Transplant medicine with incorporation of research

What makes you unique? I enjoy gymnastics and floor tumbling

What makes you common? I love spending time with my sweet Mini Aussie, Ellie