Academic Programs

  • Two people stand in a lab. The image is from behind a set of shelves. In the foreground are glass bottles with orange tops. Behind the people are more lab benches with boxes and equipment. On the left is a woman with dark hair , glasses, and a necklace wearing a black shirt. On the right is a man with a mustache and teal shirt. Both people are wearing lab coats, smiling, and are visible above the waist behind the bottles.
    When the coronavirus pandemic struck, Nebraska's Katherine LaTourrette (left) and her doctoral adviser, Hernan Garcia-Ruiz, were busy researching plant viruses. The lab responded by turning its analytical tools to the study of betacoronaviruses.
    Photo by Craig Chandler / University Communication.
  • A woman with long dark hair and wearing a lab coat sits at a lab bench. She is wearing black gloves and holding a small cartridge in her left hand. Behind her, on the bench, is an open laptop, a plate reader. In the background of the image other lab benches with instruments including a flow cytometer can be seen.
    Kassandra Durazo-Martineza, a graduate student in animal science, pipettes a sample in the Flow Cytometry lab in the Morrison Center. Nebraska Center for Biotechnology. June 13, 2024.
    Photo by Craig Chandler / University Communication and Marketing.
  • Six people stand in a semi-circle in a lab. To the left and right of the people are lab benches with equipment including centrifuges and shelves with lab plastics. On the right side of the image is a large model of a virus on display. Five people are wearing lab coats and one is in scrubs. All people are smiling and looking down at the camera.
    A team led by Eric Weaver has developed a robust vaccine against H3 influenza A virus in swine. Framed by a model of then nucleic acids proteins is the team. May 31, 2023.
    Photo by Craig Chandler / University Communications.
  • A woman with glasses and dark hair pulled back is standing in a lab. She is wearing a blue t-shirt and an open lab coat with blue gloves. She is looking up at a plastic well plate stained with purple dye that she is holding in her left hand. Behind her and slightly out of focus is a molecular lab bench with equipment, pipettes, and supplies.
    Sarah Altman checks a virus culture as she works in Shi-Hua Xiang’s lab in Morrison Hall. Altman, a junior majoring in biological systems engineering, has been awarded a Goldwater Scholarship. April 12, 2022.
    Photo by Craig Chandler / University Communication.
  • A woman with long dark hair and glasses wearing a lab coat and blue gloves is looking through a microscope at a plate of cells. Looking on is a man in a blue shirt and pants. In the background a person in a lab coat is working in a biosafety cabinet while another person in lab coat and bright blue gloves looks over their shoulder.
    Matthew Wiebe supervises post-doc Allie Krueger working on the microscope as research techs Ethan Ramsey and Zhigang Wang work in the background. Weibe has been awarded a new NIH R01 grant on molecular signaling in virus-host interaction. March 6, 2023.
    Photo by Craig Chandler / University Communication.
  • A young woman with dark hair pulled back in a blue shirt with a red letter N pin is standing between two scientific posters and discussing her work with an unseen audience.
    Dana Parker is seen describing her research as part of the UNL Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium. Dana spent the summer in the Crawford lab through the Undergraduate Student Research Experience in Virology. August 6, 2024.
    Photo by Craig Chandler / University Communication and Marketing.
  • A group of four people stand in a lab. In the foreground are gel electrophoresis chambers. In the background are shelves with boxes of lab supplies. The people stand in a shallow semi-circle from left to right a dark haired man with glasses, a white shirt, and black pants with his arms crossed and watch visible. To his left is another man with glass and a beard wearing a white lab coat. Next to them are a women with dark hair over her shoulders wearing a light colored hoodie and another woman with her hair
    Shaonpius Mondal, Mritunjoy Barman, Sofiya Arora and Nikhitha Gangavarapu. Shaonpius Mondal's research group studies mite- and aphid-borne viruses that are causing major concern for producers of wheat and small grains. March 13, 2024.
    Photo by Craig Chandler / University Communication and Marketing.

The Nebraska Center for Virology offers training opportunities in the area of virology to undergraduates, graduates, and postdoctoral trainees through the following programs:

Graduate Programs

The faculty in the Nebraska Center for Virology are associated with a variety of home departments.* For more information and to apply, please see the active departments below. Please reach out directly to faculty whose research interests you.

Animal Science

Biochemistry

Biological Sciences

Complex Biosystems

Plant Pathology

Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

*Departments above for faculty at UNL. For other programs, including UNMC and Creighton, please reach out to the NCV faculty member directly.

Undergraduate Programs
Students enrolled at UNL:

First Year Research Experience (FYRE): For incoming first-year students.

INBRE: Apply in the fall of your second year.

McNair: Apply in the spring of your first or second year.

Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experience (UCARE): Open to all undergraduates; apply in winter of the year prior.

Students from other universities:

USREV (Undergraduate Student Research Experiences in Virology): Our summer REU program. Open to all undergraduates; apply in winter before the program. 

INBRE: For students from other Nebraska-participating INBRE institutions. Contact INBRE faculty early to mid-spring for summer research opportunities.

Other REU programs: NCV faculty participate in a variety of summer research programs across departments. Explore available topics on the SRP homepage (linked above with USREV). Apply in winter before the program.

 

Postdoctoral Fellows

Individuals interested in pursuing a postdoctoral position with the Nebraska Center for Virology are encouraged to contact faculty members directly whose research aligns with their interests. We look forward to hearing from you!