Valerie Hernandez earned her bachelor's degree in Biology at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in 2019. She is currently a graduate student at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Her laboratory experience includes molecular and field work associated with the surveillance of mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks across South Texas. Her plans are to pursue a career focusing on the surveillance of vector borne diseases for public health departments or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her research is looking at climate change effects on mosquito behavior. (On hiatus)

Melissa B. Rosalez graduated from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) in Fall 2020. She is now beginning her Masters of Science at UTRGV and beginning her thesis research project. She is also working as a graduate research assistant on the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) project. She graduated in 2023 and is currently looking into Ph.D. opportunities.

Bianca Guerra received her bachelors of biological sciences at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in 2020, while working as an undergraduate in the lab. She is currently working on her thesis project that focuses on population genetics in ticks. She graduated in 2022 and is currently working as a lab manager, pending applying to Ph.D. programs.

Spencer Hills received his Bachelors degree from New College of Florida in 2017, and served as a research technician for the USDA and USGS before joining Dr. Vitek's lab in 2020. His research efforts at UTRGV focus on the seasonal variations in vector-host ecology of West Nile Virus. In the future, he intends to pursue his PhD and further deepen his expertise in vector biology and disease surveillance. He graduated in 2022 and took an internship at the CDC

Xochitl Estrada is a first-generation student who graduated with her bachelors in biology from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in 2019. She began her own research project on the evolution of insecticide resistance in the summer of 2019. In 2020 she began her Master of Science at UTRGV and is focusing on observing temperature effects on insecticide resistance. After she graduates she eventually plans to obtain her Ph.D to become a medical entomologist and work for public health, focusing on controlling and prevention efforts of vector-borne diseases.

Heather Hernandez graduated with her Master of Science degree in 2018 from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). She conducted her research at the USDA APHIS facility in the biological control lab, focusing on the parasitoid Tamarixia radiata. Upon graduation she was hired as a research associate in the Vitek Vector Biology Lab. She spearheaded a mosquito surveillance study looking at insecticide resistance in Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes along the Texas/Mexico border. Currently, Heather is the Team Lead Supervisor of the Parasite Diagnostics Lab supporting the Diagnostics and Countermeasures Branch (DCB), located at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) in Silver Spring, Maryland. Heather started her PhD in Spring 2023 at the University of Nebraska.

Rachel Malampy graduated with her Master of Science degree in July 2020 from UTRGV. Her research focused on population genetics of Aedes aegypti in south Texas. After graduation she started working at Northeastern University at the Life Science Testing Center as a Lead Clinical Lab Technician, focusing on COVID-19 diagnostic testing and research. Along with working, Rachel has enrolled at Northeastern University in their Professional Master’s program in Biotechnology. She is planning to start her Ph.D. program in Fall 2024.

Flor A. Martinez graduated with her Masters in Biology in 2018. Her research focused on vector biology and microbiology, with a thesis concentration in midgut microbes of mosquitoes. After her masters, she worked as a lab manager and research associate at the Biomedical Research facility through UTRGV School of Medicine transitioned to a different career path as a Tuberculosis (TB) Epidemiologist. Her future plans are to continue to gain more experience in a clinical public health setting to aid in the control and prevention of TB in the RGV. 

Felicia Vazquez graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology in 2014 from UTPA (now UTRGV). During her undergraduate years she started research in the lab, and then entered the Graduate program where her research focused on feeding efficiency in Aedes mosquitoes. She graduated with her Master’s of Science Degree in 2018 from UTRGV. She was accepted to medical school and is currently in her second year of medical school. She plans to enter an Emergency Medicine Residency program after finishing medical school. Her long-term plan is to become an Emergency physician and work in the Rio Grande Valley making an impact in helping her community.

Ileana C. Lozano graduated from UTPA and UTRGV with bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Psychology. She went on to be the first UTRGV student to graduate with a master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Ileana has conducted research in a multitude of different areas such as medical entomology, virology, and biomedical. Her future plans are to become a health professional to increase the impact she has on helping her community and those in medically underserved areas. 

Samantha K. Casas graduated with her Master of Science in biology degree in 2018. Her research focused on forensic entomology by investigating the life history traits of Blaesoxipha plinthophyga; a Dipteran fly found indoors on carrion. Upon graduating she took a drastic change in interest as she started working in the family insurance agency. Today, she is part owner of the agency with aspirations to grow the family business alongside her mother and sister.

Wendy Westerheide graduated with her Master degree in Biology in 2019, studying insecticide resistance in mosquitoes. With the emergence of SARS CoV-2 virus, she started working at Centex Studies conducting COVID-19 clinical vaccine trials among various trials (fatty liver, low testosterone, postpartum depression studies, etc). Wendy's future plan is to apply to dental school. Her goal is to become a successful dentist and help give residents of South Texas a beautiful, healthy smile.

Lopamudra Chakraborty graduated from UTRGV in 2015 with a Master’s degree in Biology.  After graduating, she worked as part time lecturer in the department until 2016.  In 2016, she was hired as a research technician at Texas A&M Agrilife Station in Weslaco, TX.  From August 2017 to now, she has been working as an AP Biology/AP Environmental Science Teacher at IDEA College Prep in Edinburg, TX.  She enjoyed pursuing her passion for teaching and creating a difference in student’s lives, as well as preparing students for college.  She is especially proud of her AP Biology students, many of whom have gone on to attend Tier 1 and Tier 2 universities.

Brenda Hernandez Barron is a first-generation immigrant and first-generation college graduate. In 2015 and 2016, she was awarded theUTRGV Science Education Grant #52007568 from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and earned 1st place undergraduate award at the XXV International Congress of Entomology in Orlando, Florida, in 2016. Brenda Graduated with a Bachelors in Biology and an Associate in Chemistry in 2016. Her future plans include to enter a Master’s program and welcoming her first son while living abroad in Africa with her husband. Her long term plans include to attain a managerial position in a federal or global organization focused in public health or pharmaceutical regulation. 

Jo Ann Monroy (previously Gutierrez) is a Program Manager with Harris County Public Health in Houston, TX responsible for managing the CDC Texas Environmental Health Specialist Network (EHS-Net) project site. She recently was awarded a 5-year grant aimed to improve upon the surveillance, response, and prevention efforts to reduce foodborne outbreaks and illnesses. During the 2020 COVID-19 public health response she led the data team, co-led the creation of an innovative relational database to track all confirmed and potential cases throughout the county. She received her BS in Biology from the University of Texas Pan-American (now UTRGV) in 2011, her MPH in Epidemiology from Texas A&M University in 2013, and is currently working towards obtaining her DrPH in Environmental & Occupational Health from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

Danaji Gonzalez, a United States Air Force Veteran, received a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology with a minor in Biology in 2012 and a Master’s of Science in Social Work in 2014 from the University of Texas Pan American (now UTRGV). She is currently a doctoral candidate at Our Lady of the Lake University and is expecting to graduate in 2021 with a PhD in Leadership Studies. Her work experience includes working with children, families, Child Protective Services, and providing mental health counseling in an outpatient setting to veterans at the Veterans Affairs. Her future plans are to continue to help veterans at the VA and utilize her PhD in any future leadership positions and/or teaching.

Julia Potocnjak-Onvern graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Texas-Pan American in 2012. She began graduate school at The University of Texas at Tyler in 2012 and in 2013 was involved in a motor vehicle accident that would grind her life, research work and studies to a halt. In 2020 she was accepted into the doctoral research and training program in Integrative Physiology and Behavioral Genetics at The University of Colorado Boulder. She is currently working in a molecular neurogenetics lab looking at the relationship between genetics, substance use and addiction, and psychiatric disease. Future plans include a post-doc position and possibly a role in academia with an independent research lab.

Eleaine Barron graduated from UTRGV with a bachelors in Biology in 2016. Soon after that, she began to work in an Emergency Veterinarian Clinic with plans to join Veterinarian School. After much consideration, she took a 180 degree turn and began a path towards becoming a Physician Assistant. She is currently a second year student in PA school starting clinical rotation amidst this crazy pandemic time. She hopes to finish school and work as a Physician Assistant in the Valley to help those who have helped her be where she is today.

Jeremy Thompson graduated with his bachelor's degree in biology from UTRGV in 2017. After working in Dr. Viteks lab surveying mosquito populations as an undergrad, he began working at the USDA APHIS biological control facility. In Spring 2021 he began working towards his master's degree in biology, hoping to build on his foundations of surveillance and control, to continue his work in entomology. Ignoring the fact that he and the summer sun have a longstanding feud, being out doing field work is worth the layers of sunscreen.

Kuzy Zarzosa graduated with her Bachelor's of Science in Biology. She started working at the USDA-APHIS PPQ S&T Mission Lab on a STEP-UP agricultural funded project looking at DNA extraction methods for the Mexican fruitfly (Anastrepha ludens) and was hired as a Biological Science technician in May, 2019. She will be pursuing a Master's degree in Environmental science. Her professional goals is to further develop novel therapies for biological control, for early detection of vector pathogens and detections of potential pest infestations in agriculture. She was recently accepted into Baylor.

Zhikynah Lamsis graduated with a bachelor's degree in Biology with minors in Chemistry, Medical Humanities, and Asian Studies in 2019. Currently, she am in the second-degree nursing program at UTRGV, while working as a medical scribe. Her future plans include serving rural areas as a health care professional.

Sydney Landa was currently an undergraduate student at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley majoring in Biology with a minor in Psychology when she joined the Vitek lab. She graduated in May 2021. Her end goal is to eventually apply to medical school and become a physician.

Clarissa Gonzalez was a senior at UTRGV. She is a Biology major and is minoring in both Chemistry and Psychology. She began assisting the CDC and DSHS projects in Fall 2020 and is currently working closely with the CDC project to aid in vector surveillance. After graduation, she will attend Baylor College of Medicine in Houston to pursue her medical degree. 

Melissa Salinas graduated The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and minored in Chemistry and Psychology. She is currently pursuing her MBA with a concentration in Healthcare Administration at UTRGV and hopes to graduate in 2022. Melissa joined Dr. Vitek’s lab as a volunteer after taking his Medical Entomology course and learning more about Vector-Borne Diseases.