Colleen Sedney is an ARCS Scholar in the third year of her PhD program at the University of Georgia studying infectious diseases. She was introduced to this area of science as a high school student.

“My high school had a biomedical exploration program that introduced students to different research topics,” Sedney said. “That’s when I discovered I liked epidemiology and conducting research. After a few internships, I decided epidemiology wasn’t for me, but I still wanted to learn more about diseases that I learned about in epidemiology.”

Her research is focused on Bordetella pertussis, a bacteria that causes whooping cough.

“We wanted to understand why infants are more susceptible to whooping cough than adults,” Sedney said. “So, my team and I honed in on a toxin that the bacteria produces and looked at the specific effect on the adult versus the neonatal immune system. When the toxin was taken away, we found that the neonatal immune system works very effectively.”

Sedney says this research is important for the future of infant health.

“We don’t know much about the neonatal immune response, and we’re still trying to unravel the reason why infants are so susceptible to particular pathogens,” Sedney said. “Through this study and others like it, we will better understand how to assist their immune response with vaccines or treatments.”

She hopes that the scientific community will advance this research in the future.

“We need to look at the neonatal immune system as its own entity because right now, we compare it to an adult immune system,” Sedney said. “We’ll be able to tailor vaccines to respond better, and we will be able to appreciate the neonatal immune system strengths rather than simply change its weaknesses.”

Sedney says that the generosity of her ARCS Scholar Award from the ARCS Foundation Atlanta Chapter has helped her with day-to-day expenses, as well as larger ones.

“I have a niece and nephew that live in Indiana, and I adore them,” Sedney said. “Visiting them is expensive, so the ARCS funding helps me be able to see family. It’s also helped with rent, food, and transporting myself to work.”