Dr. Courtney Comar received her PhD in 2021 from the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) in Cell and Molecular Biology with a concentration in Microbiology, Virology, and Parasitology. Courtney's PhD thesis work was focused on understanding how highly pathogenic coronaviruses interact with the human innate immune system. Courtney received her B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Minnesota in 2014 and she also pursued a minor in Music/Voice. Courtney will start a postdoctoral fellowship in summer 2021 in clinical and public health microbiology at UPenn and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Courtney has been passionate about mentoring students during her time in graduate school: she was a PhD recruitment weekend student leader at UPenn for two years, she co-founded a first-year peer mentoring program in her graduate sub-program, and she mentored a summer undergraduate student in the lab. As a recent PhD graduate, Courtney is excited to give back as a part of Project Short by mentoring prospective students.