E. Eldridge Hager-Soto
Assistant Program Engagement Coordinator
Eldridge is a PhD student at the University of Texas Medical Branch in the Department of Pathology, joining in the Fall of 2021. Eldridge is a Costa Rican-American from southwest Virginia raised in the Appalachian mountains and completed his undergraduate training at Virginia Tech majoring in Microbiology. His PhD thesis is focused on understanding how viruses that typically spread through arthropods might spread through nonconventional paths, like sexual transmission. Eldridge aims to continue researching zoonotic viral diseases and is passionate about scientific outreach and mentorship to help achieve equal representation at all levels of STEM research. Eldridge also spends time raising an uncooperative husky shepherd dog, reading fiction, and hiking.
