Zoe E.R. Wilton, MS
PhD Candidate
Frietze Lab Member since 2022
MS, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, 2020
BS, Microbiology, Michigan State University, 2019
Zoe is a PhD student in the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program at the University of New Mexico (UNM).
In the Frietze Lab, Zoe is examining novel virus-like particle vaccines against Chlamydia trachomatis, focusing on immune mechanisms of protection, model development, and novel targets.
As an undergraduate and master’s student, Zoe worked in the engineering department at Michigan State University in Dr. Lahr’s lab. During this time, Zoe worked to develop a method to using nanochromatography, as a product of the coffee ring effect, to determine the concentration of solutes in aqueous solution as a diagnostic tool for biomarkers of diseases, nutrients in wastewater, and contaminants in tap water. She spent a summer during her undergraduate studies working with Dr. Eliseo Castillo at UNM examining how defects in macrophage autophagy impacts inflammatory bowel disease.
Zoe is planning to defend her dissertation in late fall of 2026 and is actively looking for a postdoctoral fellowship position to continue her research training.