Camille Higgins
West Lafayette,Indiana
Overview
7
7
years of professional experience
Work History
Graduate Research Assistant, Doctoral Student Thesis Research
Purdue University Graduate School
05.2026 - Current
- Culture cells, engineer chimeric flaviviruses, prepare media and reagents, and conduct cell transfections and infections. Maintain C6/36 (mosquito cell line), BHK, and HEK293T cells to support ongoing research.
- Conduct literature reviews to support research projects and findings.
- Develop presentations to showcase research outcomes.
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Biology 203 & 204
Purdue University Graduate School
08.2025 - Current
- Deliver weekly lectures, proctor exams, address student inquiries, and organize laboratory sessions on human anatomy topics.
- Facilitate study sessions, guiding students through complex topics and coursework.
- Assist professors in preparing course materials and lectures for undergraduate classes.
Research Assistant, Laboratory Assistant
Purdue University
12.2021 - 04.2025
- Prepared buffers and media
- Performed gene transfections of yeast and purified proteins to support ongoing experiments.
- Researched topics relevant to experiments to ensure alignment with current scientific objectives.
- Passed exams to gain entry to the lab buildings and offices.
- Attended weekly lab meetings to discuss research progress and collaboratively plan future experiments.
Tutor
Mathnasium
Clarksville, Indiana
04.2019 - 02.2020
- Facilitated personalized math tutoring sessions for diverse student needs from first grade math to calculus.
- Developed customized lesson plans to enhance student comprehension.
- Engaged students with interactive learning techniques and problem-solving exercises.
Education
Ph.D. - Microbiology, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases
Purdue University
West Lafayette05-2030
Bachelor of Science - Microbiology
Purdue University Honors College
West Lafayette05-2025
International Baccalaureate -
Floyd Central High School
Floyds Knobs05-2021
Skills
- Molecular cloning and gene expression
- Protein purification techniques
- Protein characterization techniques
- Cell culturing
- Data analysis and interpretation
- Experiment development
- Literature review
- Project troubleshooting
- Scientific writing
- Presentation skills
PROJECTS AND PUBLICATIONS
- 2023 Purdue Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium — Protein Purification for Structural and Functional Analysis: An Undergraduate Perspective
- Manuscript awaiting publication — Morato, N. M., Dhanabalan, K. V., Feng, Y., Patra, D., Setty, T. G., Higgins, C., Subramanian, R., and Cooks, R. G. “Ambient Ionization Mass Spectrometry and Cryo-Electron Microscopy for Label-Free Enzyme Characterization.” - I worked on purifying the sialyltransferase, PmLiC3A, which was then used to demonstrate the combined use of cryo-electron microscopy and ambient ionization mass spectrometry to characterize label-free enzymes.
- Manuscript under preparation - This manuscript is about my research on fluorophore conjugation of nanobodies. It discusses how labeled nanobodies can be used to detect Fusobacterium in oral samples with the ultimate goal of identifying gum disease and tooth decay.
AWARDS
Purdue 2022 Biological Sciences Summer Research Fellowship: Fully funded protein purification research position
Timeline
Graduate Research Assistant, Doctoral Student Thesis Research
Purdue University Graduate School
05.2026 - Current
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Biology 203 & 204
Purdue University Graduate School
08.2025 - Current
Research Assistant, Laboratory Assistant
Purdue University
12.2021 - 04.2025
Tutor
Mathnasium
04.2019 - 02.2020
Ph.D. - Microbiology, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases
Purdue University
Bachelor of Science - Microbiology
Purdue University Honors College
International Baccalaureate -
Floyd Central High School