UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications

Lindale Resident Recognized for UT Tyler Biology Research

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May 2, 2019

Media Contact: Beverley Golden
Senior Director of Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.566.7303

The University of Texas at Tyler announced today that one of its student research assistants in the Department of Biology was recognized for her research work that focuses on lung disease.

UT Tyler junior biology major Shandis Fancher of Lindale received second and third place awards in pathogenic microbiology research at this year's American Society of Microbiology and the Beta Beta Beta Honors Society Conferences, respectively. UT Tyler professor of biology Dr. Ali Azghani serves as her faculty mentor.

"Shandis approached me based on her interest in medicine and the focus of my research in the biomedical field," he said. "She was able to learn new techniques quite rapidly and because of her hard work and deep interest in learning, she was able to work on a project focused on the mechanism of lung cell injury due to infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, funded by a UT Tyler Presidential Grant. She is in the process of learning molecular technologies to investigate the genetic determinants of the antibiotic resistant bacterium P. aeruginosa. I am proud of Shandis and the work she is doing for UT Tyler undergraduate research."

Fancher plans to attend medical school after graduating from UT Tyler in 2020.

"I hope to become a reconstructive plastic surgeon one day, and my role in research has been an excellent opportunity for me to develop aseptic technique and manual precision throughout my experimentation," Fancher said. "Our collaborative work dealing with inflammatory mechanisms of hospital-acquired infections has direct relevance to the medical field and has allowed me to integrate the knowledge and skills I've acquired throughout my undergraduate degree and improve my analytical thinking."

The biology department at the University integrates research as an important component of the UT Tyler learning experience for both undergraduate and graduate students. For more information, visit uttyler.edu/biology.

A member of the prestigious UT System, The University of Texas at Tyler focuses on student success and innovative research in the more than 80 undergraduate and graduate degree programs offered. With more than 10,000 students, UT Tyler has facilities in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.