Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Accomplishments
Affiliations
Timeline
Awards
Publications
Generic

Sarah Kristine Cooper

Fort Collins

Summary

Dedicated infectious disease researcher with a strong background in molecular biology and pathology, beginning with undergraduate work on Chronic Wasting Disease at Colorado State University, resulting in a first-authored manuscript. Pursued advanced research in Dr. Brendan Podell's lab, utilizing innovative techniques such as fluorescent multiplex immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization and spatial transcriptomic assays to investigate tuberculosis granulomas. Expertise includes research in a BSL-3 facility, animal handling, and computational pathology, contributing to COVID-19 vaccine studies and achieving multiple first and co-authorships. Committed to advancing human health through interdisciplinary research in immunology, pathology, and computational biology, with a vision for a transformative career in disease research.

Overview

9
9
years of professional experience

Work History

Graduate Research Assistant

Colorado State University
01.2019 - Current

1. For the past two years, I have conducted research in Dr. Brendan Podell’s laboratory where we investigate Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogenesis in rodent animal models to better understand immune correlates of protection. During my time in this lab, I have gained invaluable experience in animal model handling, necropsy, and infection, bacterial culture, and several pathology-based techniques. I have become proficient in computational image analysis and algorithm design in TB pathology, which extended into collaborative opportunities in the TB and COVID-19 vaccine candidate research included in my publications below. My studies of vaccine-induced correlates of protection in mice using advanced pathology-based techniques are ongoing and I have presented my progress in poster and oral presentations. During my graduate career, I aim to take pathology-based methods to a higher dimension, as I am formulating a method to look deeper into the host-pathogen complexities of permissive and protective granulomas using spatial statistics. Overall, I intend to elucidate the role of the granuloma in TB disease in order to contribute to the development of more targeted and effective vaccines and therapeutics.

Publications

1. Larsen, Sasha E et al. “Subunit vaccine protects against a clinical isolate of Mycobacterium avium in wild type and immunocompromised mouse models.” Scientific reports vol. 11,1 9040. 27 Apr. 2021, doi:10.1038/s41598-021-88291-8

2. Ragan, Izabela K et al. “A Whole Virion Vaccine for COVID-19 Produced via a Novel Inactivation Method and Preliminary Demonstration of Efficacy in an Animal Challenge Model.” Vaccines vol. 9,4 340. 1 Apr. 2021, doi:10.3390/vaccines9040340

3. Jia, Qingmei et al. “Replicating bacterium-vectored vaccine expressing SARS-CoV-2 Membrane and Nucleocapsid proteins protects against severe COVID-19-like disease in hamsters.” NPJ vaccines vol. 6,1 47. 30 Mar. 2021, doi:10.1038/s41541-021-00321-8

Posters

1. Cooper, Sarah K et al. “Phenotyping immune cell populations in situ in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infected mouse lung tissue.” Colorado State University CVMBS Research Day, January 2020.

Presentations

1. Cooper, Sarah K et al. “Utilizing High-dimensional Quantitative Pathology to Characterize Granuloma Heterogeneity in Tuberculosis.” Colorado State University CVMBS Research Day, January 2021

2. Jia Q, Bielefeldt-Ohmann et al. “Novel COVID-19 Vaccine Utilizing a Replicating Intracellular Bacterium Vector Platform for Vaccines against Select Agents and Emerging Pathogens Vaccines.” R&D- 2021, November 2021.

Undergraduate Learning Assistant

Colorado State University
01.2019 - 01.2019

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Dr. Edward Hoover, Colorado State University
01.2017 - 01.2019

Descriptions:

· Responsible for assisting in designing, executing, and troubleshooting experiments involving Chronic Wasting Disease detection and transmission in deer and elk.

· Developed proper lab technique and ethics, data analysis skills, and scientific writing skills. Experiments included assays involving prion detection such as Real Time Quaking Induced Conversion, Western Blot, Immunohistochemistry, H&E, and PCR.

Achievements:

· May 2019: Attending and Presenting at Prion 2019

· 2018: Pending publication, first author

· 2018: Pending publication, co-author

· April 2018: Celebrate Undergraduate Research and Creativity, High Honors Research Poster Award


Publications

1. Cooper SK, Hoover CE, Henderson DM, Haley NJ, Mathiason CK, Hoover EA. “Detection of CWD in cervids by RT-QuIC assay of third eyelids.” PLoS One. 2019;14(8):e0221654. Published 2019 Aug 28. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0221654

2. Henderson DM, Denkers ND, Hoover CE, et al. “Progression of chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer analyzed by serial biopsy RT-QuIC and immunohistochemistry.” PLoS One. 2020;15(2):e0228327. Published 2020 Feb 14. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0228327

Posters

1. Cooper, Sarah K et al. “Detection of CWD prions in third eyelids of deer and elk.” Prion 2019, May 2019.

2. Cooper, Sarah K et al. “Detection of CWD prions in third eyelids of deer and elk.” Colorado State University CURC Showcase, April 2019.

3. Cooper, Sarah K et al. “Detection of CWD prions in third eyelids of deer and elk.” CSU Colorado State University CURC Showcase, April 2018.

4. Cooper, Sarah K et al. “Detection of CWD prions in third eyelids of deer and elk.” Rocky Mountain ASM Branch Fall Meeting, November 2018.

Education

Ph.D. - Microbiology

Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO
09-2025

BS - Biomedical Sciences

Colorado State University
05.2019

BS - Microbiology, Minor: Spanish

Colorado State University
05.2019

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Colorado Mountain College
05.2015

Skills

  • In situ experimental research, optimization, and development
  • Multiplexed in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, histology
  • Digital pathology analysis development and execution using Visiopharm software
  • Spatial transcriptomics
  • Experimental design and execution
  • Statistical data analysis in R software
  • Academic research, writing, and presenting
  • Animal model research
  • Infectious disease research
  • BSL-3 facility research
  • Collaborative research
  • In vivo, in vitro, and in situ experimental techniques in immunology and microbiology

Accomplishments

Publications

1. Cooper, S. K., Ackart, D. F., Lanni, F., Mitcham, V., Henao-Tamayo, & Podell, B. K. (2025). A high-dimensional multiplex approach reveals the spatial diversity of host-pathogen interaction in the tuberculosis granuloma. Manuscript submitted for publication August 2025.

2. Cooper, S. K., Ackart, D. F., Lanni, F., Henao-Tamayo, M., Anderson, G. B., & Podell, B. K. (2024). Heterogeneity in immune cell composition is associated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis replication at the granuloma level. Frontiers in immunology, 15, 1427472. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1427472

3. Harris, M. C., Gary, H. E., Cooper, S. K., Ackart, D. F., DiLisio, J. E., Basaraba, R. J., Cheng, T.-Y., van Rhijn, I., Branch Moody, D., & Podell, B. K. (2024). Establishment of CD1b-restricted immunity to lipid antigens in the pulmonary response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Infection and immunity, 92(12), e0038024. https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.00380-24

4. Rais, M., Abdelaal, H., Reese, V. A., Ferede, D., Larsen, S. E., Pecor, T., Erasmus, J. H., Archer, J., Khandhar, A. P., Cooper, S. K., Podell, B. K., Reed, S. G., Coler, R. N., & Baldwin, S. L. (2023). Immunogenicity and protection against Mycobacterium avium with a heterologous RNA prime and protein boost vaccine regimen. Tuberculosis (Edinburgh, Scotland), 138, 102302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tube.2022.102302

4. Dutt, T. S., Karger, B. R., Fox, A., Youssef, N., Dadhwal, R., Ali, M. Z., Patterson, J., Creissen, E., Rampacci, E., Cooper, S. K., Podell, B. K., Gonzalez-Juarrero, M., Obregon-Henao, A., & Henao-Tamayo, M. (2022). Mucosal exposure to non-tuberculous mycobacteria elicits B cell-mediated immunity against pulmonary tuberculosis. Cell reports, 41(11), 111783. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111783

5. Ragan, I. K., Hartson, L. M., Dutt, T. S., Obregon-Henao, A., Maison, R. M., Gordy, P., Fox, A., Karger, B. R., Cross, S. T., Kapuscinski, M. L., Cooper, S. K., Podell, B. K., Stenglein, M. D., Bowen, R. A., Henao-Tamayo, M., & Goodrich, R. P. (2021). A Whole Virion Vaccine for COVID-19 Produced via a Novel Inactivation Method and Preliminary Demonstration of Efficacy in an Animal Challenge Model. Vaccines, 9(4), 340. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9040340

6. Larsen, S. E., Reese, V. A., Pecor, T., Berube, B. J., Cooper, S. K., Brewer, G., Ordway, D., Henao-Tamayo, M., Podell, B. K., Baldwin, S. L., & Coler, R. N. (2021). Subunit vaccine protects against a clinical isolate of Mycobacterium avium in wild type and immunocompromised mouse models. Scientific reports, 11(1), 9040. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-88291-8

7. Jia, Q., Bielefeldt-Ohmann, H., Maison, R. M., Masleša-Galić, S., Cooper, S. K., Bowen, R. A., & Horwitz, M. A. (2021). Replicating bacterium-vectored vaccine expressing SARS-CoV-2 Membrane and Nucleocapsid proteins protects against severe COVID-19-like disease in hamsters. NPJ vaccines, 6(1), 47. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-021-00321-8

8. Henderson, D. M., Denkers, N. D., Hoover, C. E., McNulty, E. E., Cooper, S. K., Bracchi, L. A., Mathiason, C. K., & Hoover, E. A. (2020). Progression of chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer analyzed by serial biopsy RT-QuIC and immunohistochemistry. PloS one, 15(2), e0228327. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228327

9. Cooper, S. K., Hoover, C. E., Henderson, D. M., Haley, N. J., Mathiason, C. K., & Hoover, E. A. (2019). Detection of CWD in cervids by RT-QuIC assay of third eyelids. PloS one, 14(8), e0221654. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221654

Affiliations

  • 202-2023 Member, MIP Graduate Student Organization
  • 2021 Member, Bioinformatics Club
  • 2021-2022 Mentor, MIP PhD Peer Mentor Program
  • 2020 CVMBS Research Day Oral Presentation
  • 2020 Member, Promoting Healthy Graduate Students
  • 2020 MIP Graduate Seminar Oral Presentation
  • 2020 CVMBS Research Day Poster Presentation
  • 2019 Women in Science Symposium, First Generation Discussion Panel
  • 2019 International Prion Conference Poster Presentation
  • 2019 BSL-2 and BSL-3 training
  • 2019 Select agent approval
  • 2019 VisioPharm image analysis training
  • 2015-2019 The National Society of Collegiate Scholars

Timeline

Graduate Research Assistant

Colorado State University
01.2019 - Current

Undergraduate Learning Assistant

Colorado State University
01.2019 - 01.2019

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Dr. Edward Hoover, Colorado State University
01.2017 - 01.2019

BS - Biomedical Sciences

Colorado State University

BS - Microbiology, Minor: Spanish

Colorado State University

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Colorado Mountain College

Ph.D. - Microbiology

Colorado State University

Awards

2019 High Honors Poster, Celebrating Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium, 2018 High Honors Poster, Celebrating Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium, 2015-2019 Colorado Merit Scholarship, 2015-2019 Dean’s List, 2015-2019 Honors Undergraduate Research Scholars, 2015-2016 The Rotary Club Scholarship, 2015-2016 The Youth Foundation Scholarship

Publications

  • Cooper SK, Hoover CE, Henderson DM, Haley NJ, Mathiason CK, Hoover EA. “Detection of CWD in cervids by RT-QuIC assay of third eyelids.” PLoS One. 2019;14(8):e0221654. Published 2019 Aug 28. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0221654
  • Henderson DM, Denkers ND, Hoover CE, et al. “Progression of chronic wasting disease in white-tailed deer analyzed by serial biopsy RT-QuIC and immunohistochemistry.” PLoS One. 2020;15(2):e0228327. Published 2020 Feb 14. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0228327
  • Cooper, Sarah K et al. “Detection of CWD prions in third eyelids of deer and elk.” Prion 2019, May 2019.
  • Cooper, Sarah K et al. “Detection of CWD prions in third eyelids of deer and elk.” Colorado State University CURC showcase, April 2019.
  • Cooper, Sarah K et al. “Detection of CWD prions in third eyelids of deer and elk.” CSU Colorado State University CURC showcase, April 2018.
  • Cooper, Sarah K et al. “Detection of CWD prions in third eyelids of deer and elk.” Rocky Mountain ASM Branch Fall Meeting, November 2018.
  • Cooper, Sarah K et al. “Utilizing High-dimensional Quantitative Pathology to Characterize Granuloma Heterogeneity in Tuberculosis.” Colorado State University CVMBS Research Day, January 2021
  • Jia Q, Bielefeldt-Ohmann et al. “Novel COVID-19 Vaccine Utilizing a Replicating Intracellular Bacterium Vector Platform for Vaccines against Select Agents and Emerging Pathogens Vaccines.” R&D- 2021, November 2021.

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