Jan Simper, Ph.D.
M.D./Ph.D. Student
Jan Simper is a student in the South 17³Ô¹ÏÍø Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD program) who recently completed his PhD studying host-pathogen interactions under the mentorship of Larry Schlesinger, MD. For his research, Jan studied the role of the NR4A nuclear receptor family in human macrophages, with a particular focus on their role during tuberculosis infection. He is now transitioning back to medical school to complete his clinical training and is considering pursuing internal medicine with a specialty in infectious disease.
About Me
I was born in Switzerland to a Czech family but immigrated to the US when I was very young, although I still speak Czech fluently. I was first introduced to the medical field when I was very young through my father and grandmother who were both doctors, but I was also interested in finding out more about the world around me and human health which pushed me towards research. I lived in both Minnesota and Arizona with the latter where I went to college at Arizona State University. I majored in Biomedical Engineering in college and did some work in epigenetics and regenerative medicine before solidifying my interest in infectious disease. I did a post-bac at the NIH in Bethesda working with infectious agents before attending school at 17³Ô¹ÏÍø. San Antonio reminds me a lot of where I grew up in Arizona so I love the warm climate and affordable cost-of-living, and trying new foods and experiences with my cohort!
Hobbies/Interests
Working out, soccer, reading, rock climbing, video games, hanging out with friends
Research Topic
Innate immune factors in tuberculosis
Why I chose MD/PhD
I chose the MD/PhD for the opportunity to use my clinical understanding of infectious diseases to inform my research to find treatments for these global diseases and make an impact on the health of people worldwide.
Why I chose MD/PhD at 17³Ô¹ÏÍø
There are too many reasons to list here, but one reason I chose MD/PhD at 17³Ô¹ÏÍø due to the collaborative environment, including with the 17³Ô¹ÏÍø Biomedical Research Institute where I do my research on infectious disease.
Post-bac work or other affiliations
Postbac (IRTA) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Education
B.S.E., Biomedical Engineering, Arizona State University, 2016
Publications
Callies, L. K., Tadeo, D., Simper, J., Bugge, T. H., & Szabo, R. (2019). Iterative, multiplexed CRISPR-mediated gene editing for functional analysis of complex protease gene clusters. The Journal of biological chemistry, 294(44), 15987–15996.