Jazmyn L. Bess, M.S.

Ms. Jazmyn Bess joined DCEG as a postbaccalaureate fellow and iCURE Scholar in the Clinical Genetics Branch (CGB) and the Trans-Divisional Research Program (TDRP) in November 2022. She earned an M.S. in microbiology and cell science from the University of Florida, Gainesville, and a B.S. in microbiology and immunology from the University of Texas, San Antonio.

In CGB, Ms. Bess primarily studies HPV 35 variation in HPV 35-associated cervical cancer and benign infections among women of African ancestry and worldwide, under the mentorship of Lisa Mirabello, Ph.D., M.S., senior investigator. She is also working on a systematic review examining Cardiofaciocutaneous Syndrome and estimated cancer risk under the mentorship of Douglas Stewart, M.D., senior investigator.

In TDRP, she is working on the Connect for Cancer Prevention Study, exploring numerous areas including liquid biopsy pilot efforts, GWAS chip design, and diversity recruitment under the mentorship of Mia M. Gaudet, Ph.D., senior scientist, and Nicolas Wentzensen, M.D., Ph.D., M.S., senior investigator. Ms. Bess is also involved in additional projects including examining disparities in leading causes of death between Asian American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander populations in the U.S., under the mentorship of Jacqueline Vo, Ph.D., R.N., M.P.H, assistant clinical investigator in the Radiation Epidemiology Branch, and Jaimie Z. Shing, Ph.D., M.P.H., postdoctoral fellow in the Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch.