Hua Shi

Hua Shi is a third-year doctoral candidate in the infectious disease department with a major in comparative biomedical science. She was born and raised in China and got her Bachelor of Science degree at the Central South University in China, majoring in pharmacy. Her laboratory experience as an undergraduate triggered her to pursue further education in scientific research, then she applied and got accepted as an M.S. student by UGA in the pharmacy department, majoring in pharmaceutical and biomedical science, in 2018. After graduating with an M.S. degree in 2020, she became a research technician in the Ross Lab at the Center for Vaccine and Immunology, working on the development of the universal influenza vaccine. Later, with a huge interest in influenza vaccine development and immunology, and encouragement from her P.I. Dr. Ted Ross, she transferred to be a PhD student in Ross Lab, continuing the research of designing and characterizing the inactivated universal influenza vaccine for ameliorating the cost of manufacturing the annual flu shot and protecting people from severe infection by influenza viruses. By receiving the candidateship at the end of the second year of her PhD program, she is excited and encouraged to continue her research in this field, hoping to develop a promising influenza vaccine that can provide broad long-term protection for all populations.