Brissette bolsters infectious disease research effort at School of Medicine and Health Sciences
December 02, 2010:
GRAND FORKS, N.D.–Catherine A. Brissette, Ph.D., has been named assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She will conduct research and teach medical and graduate students.

Brissette’s research focus at UND, the subject of her postdoctoral work, will be the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, the cause of Lyme disease. This disease is the most frequently reported tick-borne disease of humans in the United States. The incidence of this disease has been steadily on the rise since first described in the late 1970s.

“All evidence indicates that Lyme disease will continue to be a widespread public health problem,” said Brissette. “I hope my research leads to better diagnostic techniques.”

This past fall, Brissette completed her Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Kentucky. She earned her Ph.D. in Pathobiology from the University of Washington in 2006. In 1998, Brissette received her Master of Science in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from the University of Vermont. She is a 1994 graduate of Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology.

Brissette’s parents live in New Hampshire, where her father is a Ph.D.-level scientist with the U.S. Forest Service and her mother is a medical technologist. While at the University of Washington, Brissette played clarinet for the “Ballard Sedentary Sousa Band.” The band’s motto is “Ya Sousa, You Betcha!” and it bills itself as “the finest non-marching band in all of Ballard.” Brissette hopes to find a similarly nonmobile, Sousa-esque band in Grand Forks to continue her clarinet playing.

Brissette is excited to be here. “There is a push to hire basic science faculty at the School,” she said. “Everyone has been so welcoming. They even decorated my office and lab.”

Brissette, her 18-month-old son Caden and their dog Dixie live in Grand Forks.

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Contact: Denis MacLeod, assistant director, Office of Alumni and Community Relations, UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences, (701) 777-2733 denis.macleod@med.und.edu

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