Dr. Jillian Losh is a Project Manager at the Houston Methodist Research Institute within the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world. She currently provides project support to research teams, helping to ensure that future drug, device, and biologic therapies will be available to a variety of patient populations. Jill completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Houston-Downtown, where she majored in Microbiology with double minors in Biology and Chemistry. She then attended the MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, earning a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. Jill is an enthusiastic supporter of the biomedical sciences, as both a scientist and an administrator. Jill was part of a team who oversaw the development of the first FDA-approved convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19 and assisted in the therapy's transition to clinical trials. When she's not working, you can find her in Irish dance class, yoga class, or chauffeuring her dog to the park.
Jill Losh always knew she loved the world of science, especially biology, but she never gave thought to anything beyond her undergrad program. After all, she didn’t have any scientists in her immediate family, and as a child, the few scientists who were known in the mainstream were males. As it turns out, Jill’s undergrad advisor, also a woman, played a huge role in encouraging Jill to consider grad school, and today the work of Jill and her team has left an indelible mark on the story of a virus that affects us all - no matter which corner of the globe we call home.
There’s so much we don’t know yet about COVID-19, and for those of us who don’t work in the scientific or medical communities, it’s even harder to keep up with the facts. We asked Jill to walk us through some of the basics of the science for the general public: the difference between a therapy and a cure, a closer look at convalescent plasma therapy - including its history and why her team decided to focus on this treatment, the meaning of the name COVID-19, and what’s it’s like to be part of a heavily-female team when the STEM community at large is known for being male-dominated.
Joining us to share her story, Jill talks about how her hobbies have helped her to achieve some of her professional success; learning to channel her anxiety and the lesson learned after putting off a new hobby for many years; and the impact of networking, not only in her professional life, but her personal life too.
