RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Tawny is a Research Associate in the Caddy lay with a special interest in the immuno-physiology of the maternal dyad. Tawny began her research career in animal science, as she was born and raised on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. She obtained specialized training in nutritional physiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she received her MS and PhD. She came to Cornell for her first postdoc in nutritional immunology where she developed an expertise in basic and applied immunology. She was awarded a USDA-NIFA AFRI Postdoctoral Fellowship to study the ability of nutrients to modulate innate immune responses in the bovine. She further expanded her training to neonates and developed novel insight on the maternally derived factors that affect the immunity of neonatal calves.

After her first post-doc, Tawny became a part of her own maternal dyad and wanted to expand her expertise in maternal immunity to humans and other species. She joined the Caddy Lab in April 2023 and developed an expertise in breeding and infecting neonatal mice with a range of pathogens including LCMV, rotavirus, and influenza. She has begun working with large genomic datasets and has expertise working with single cell RNA-seq data. Her current projects included investigating the mechanisms of maternal antibody interference in a neonatal model of oral rotavirus vaccination and the protective functions of maternal antibodies in neonatal infections.

Outside of the lab… she enjoys spending time with her family, including hiking with Nora and Barry, and baking up a storm.