“It’s been very surreal,” Knight said, describing the weeks that led up to learning that her defense would take place virtually on Zoom due to the coronavirus pandemic, instead of the on-campus talk and celebration with 50 people she had planned. 

Knight will graduate with a doctorate in pathobiology from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in May. Despite the somewhat anticlimactic ending to her education, she said there was one benefit of moving the defense online: Knight was no longer limited to inviting guests who were able to travel to Baltimore. That meant she could include her 94-year-old grandmother and her Illinois College mentor, Laura Corey, dean of faculty and associate professor of biology.

“It ended up being a very unique experience, and it meant a lot to have Dr. Corey there,” Knight said. “She has been so essential even in my decision to do this career, and she has done so much to get me where I am today. I always want to make her proud.” 

Reflecting on her time at Illinois College, Knight said her experiences prepared her well for graduate school. The biology major was involved on campus as a member of the French Club, an IC Connections leader and a student worker in the campus writing center. As an undergraduate, some of her most transformative lessons were learned completing student-faculty research. 

“IC really helped me gain confidence in the lab and develop the critical-thinking and problem-solving skills I needed to be successful.” she said. “My mentors encouraged me to think freely and prepared me with the tools to work more independently in the lab.” 

Knight said the ultimate goal of her doctoral program has been to better understand human disease and to translate lab research into clinical relevance. Her current work explores why people living with HIV, even those who have access to effective therapy, still develop neurological disorders. By focusing on specific cells in the brain, Knight was able to design and execute a successful preclinical drug pilot . 

“A lot of patients just have trouble with memory or fine motor skills. They start to forget a lot more a lot quicker than what would be expected for someone aging normally,” she said. “My work looks at a dual therapy in conjunction with antiviral treatment to improve cognition, but also to remove the virus from the brain and move one step closer to finding a cure.” 

After successfully defending her thesis on Zoom to a group of about 90 viewers, Knight learned that her plans for May would also change. Her graduation will be held virtually and she and her fiance have made the decision to postpone the wedding ceremony and reception they had planned for May. 

Even the work that Knight will pursue after graduation has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. After she spends a few months as a postdoctoral research fellow for her current mentor at John Hopkins, Knight will begin a postdoctoral position at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Originally she had planned to continue her work on viruses in the brain; now she is preparing to work on a research team focused on the coronavirus. 

“Because UNC is equipped with biological containment labs where you can actually work with this disease, and they have some of the world’s leading coronavirus experts, that will be my focus,” Knight said. 

Her team’s work will focus on vaccine development and looking at how prior infections can impact peoples’ ability to respond to vaccines. 

“It’s really important work especially within the broader picture,” Knight added. “My target start date is in July, but like all things now, we will see.”