Courtney Santos

Courtney Santos is originally from Long Island, New York, but lived most of her life in North Carolina growing up with her three older sisters and younger brother. She attended college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she studied Clinical Laboratory Science. During her undergraduate studies, Courtney worked as a research assistant at the UNC Gene Therapy Center studying Batten disease in Dr. Steven Gray’s lab where she discovered her passion for research. In her senior year of college, she worked as a student intern in the Core Lab at UNC Hospitals. Following graduation, Courtney received her certification in Medical Laboratory Science and worked in the Clinical Microbiology Lab at UNC Hospitals throughout the pandemic. During her time in the Clinical Microbiology Lab, she had the opportunity to do research on respiratory viral pathogens under Dr. Melissa B. Miller. With both clinical and research experience under her belt, Courtney decided to go back to school and was accepted to UT Southwestern’s Biomedical PhD program. In addition to joining the Molecular Microbiology Department, she is also part of the Mechanisms of Disease and Translational Science track offered at UT Southwestern. Courtney joined the Forsberg lab where she gets to explore her love of microbiology and study bacterial defense mechanisms against phages.

When Courtney is not in lab, you can find her exploring farmers markets, plant nurseries, and restaurants around Dallas. On her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, baking, taking care of her plant babies, or relaxing with some yoga or a good book.