AADOCR NSRG Councilor Candidate 2026-2027
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA
Graduation Date: 2027
Reasons for Running
My name is Calvin Yeager, and I have an inordinate fondness for research. I am a second-year DDS student at Virginia Commonwealth University. I earned my BS in Biochemistry from Hartwick College and my PhD in Microbiology & Immunology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During my PhD, I studied the enzymology of enteroviruses to prevent paralytic disease in children; I continue to study viruses at Virginia Commonwealth today. I earned two national fellowships: one from the NSF and one from the NIH. I have previously held leadership positions in the American Society for Microbiology, acting as the Young Ambassador for Pennsylvania and North Carolina, where I levied funds to bring science education to underfunded school districts. I independently founded and produced a science podcast for non-scientists, Curioscity, in which I spoke to university presidents, city mayors, and scientists about basic science that would benefit the taxpayer (50,000+ downloads). All students deserve the chance to be exposed to high quality research, and I have the experience required to represent and vocally advocate for NSRG scientifically while continuing to develop my command of clinical dentistry.
Research Conducted / Student Activities
I have been actively involved in research and outreach my entire career. During my undergraduate studies, I designed a simple, colorimetric assay to quantify lytic bacteriophage replication. During my PhD, I studied the proteins of enteroviruses, the etiological agents of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease, and Acute Flaccid Myelitis. Specifically, I purified and characterized the elusive protein 2C, the ATPase, and putative viral translocase. My studies provided insight into vulnerabilities of the ATPase that would uncouple the viral genome from being loaded into its viral capsid, preventing infection. While at Virginia Commonwealth, I study protein-protein interactions of human papillomaviruses to design small-molecule antiviral therapeutics. I am involved in my class executive board as research chair, contribute to the student research group and periodontology clubs, and contribute to an interdisciplinary design of a Health Humanities minor for the Monroe Park campus of VCU. Extra-institutionally, I am a reviewer for the Journal of Biological Chemistry and provide support to students involved in Beta Beta Beta, a biological honors society.