Emily A. Higgins Keppler
PhD, Microbiology
I am a microbiologist working towards identifying volatile organic compounds associated with coccidioidomycosis or Valley fever. My ultimate goal is to identify breath-based biomarkers for diagnosing Valley fever, a fungal pneumonia endemic to the greater southwest. My research thus far has focused on identifying in vitro and in vivo volatile biomarkers of Valley fever using two-dimensional gas chromatography – time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-TOFMS).
I received a BA in Anthropology in 2004 from Arizona State University and worked as an archaeologist in Arizona for 12 years. In 2015, I returned to Arizona State University to earn a BS in Microbiology. In 2017, I started the Microbiology PhD program at Arizona State University and joined Heather Bean’s lab, working on my dissertation, “Identifying volatile biomarkers for a Valley fever breath test”. I will be completing my PhD in December 2022, and will continue working in Heather Bean’s lab.