U of G professor Rebecca Shapiro was featured in Nature on July 9 recounting her story of how she built a microbiology lab from scratch — on a budget.

A professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Shapiro said she began by applying for grants, sourcing equipment on online auction sites and using hand-me-downs from retiring faculty members.

Finding resourceful ways to furbish her lab — from pipettes to analytical equipment — felt like an accomplishment, said Shapiro.

A molecular microbiologist, she studies genetic pathways that regulate virulence and antifungal drug resistance in fungal pathogens. Currently, she works to develop cutting-edge, CRISPR-based genomic technologies to better understand the biology of these fungal species.