Kelly Laing, M.S.c
CDC Fellow | Yale School of Public Health | Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases
Laboratory of Epidemiology of Public Health (LEPH) | 60 College St. | New Haven, CT 06510
Email: [email protected]
B.S. in Biology- North Carolina State University, US
M.S.c. in Infectious Diseases- University of Kent, Canterbury UK
Growing up as a multi-racial child in rural Appalachia, I experienced the stark contradiction between the natural beauty of the region and the deep struggles with poverty and inequality. My childhood was filled with moments of running barefoot through lush fields and swimming in mountain rivers, but also marked by a lack of access to education, healthcare, and basic resources. These early experiences not only shaped my understanding of resilience and exposed me to the harsh realities of racism, educational and health disparities, but motivated me to pursue education and public health, with the goal of creating meaningful change in underserved communities.
After attending community college, I pursued my undergraduate studies at North Carolina State University, where I further developed my passion for research, public health, and infectious diseases. My work with a research team in Namibia focused on developing low cost drone technology to support anti-poaching efforts, reduce impacts of the wildlife trade, and ultimately promote economic development in indigenous communities. This experience solidified my commitment to equitable, community driven solutions.
Following graduation, I joined the Peace Corps in South America, where I co-authored and taught a curriculum on STI, pregnancy, and violence prevention. This role strengthened my science communication skills and deepened my understanding of community based interventions. Though my service was cut short due to health challenges, this experience reinforced my dedication to global public health.
During my master’s program at the University of Kent, I found a wonderful mentor who sparked my interest in virology, further expanding my public health interests into the realm of viral genomics and epidemiology. My dissertation research focused on analyzing RNA sequencing data to investigate differential gene expression in response to infection.
I’m currently at Grubaugh lab through the CDC Ferguson Emerging Infectious Diseases Fellowship.
If I’m not in the lab asking Mallery questions you can find me obsessing over passion projects, signing up for more projects, or pretending that I will definitely come to rugby practice this weekend. My other hobbies include making friends with animals, yoga, cycling, hiking, climbing, caving or participating in some other sport that requires a special pair of shoes.
