Joy A. McKenna is a postdoctoral researcher in the Microbiology and Immunology department at Stanford University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on how bacterial pathogens, such as Salmonella and Shigella, interact with our cells to cause disease.

During her time at UNLV, McKenna earned both her B.S. and Ph.D. in Biology. Her dissertation focused on understanding how virulence genes are regulated in the bacterial pathogen Shigella flexneri. As a graduate student, McKenna published three manuscripts in impactful peer-reviewed journals. She successfully obtained research and travel grants, most notably the Nevada NASA Space Grant Consortium Graduate Research Fellowship and UNLV Summer Doctoral Research Fellowships. Throughout her graduate career, McKenna taught upper-division biology courses. Her passion for making science fun and easy to understand drove her to redesign several undergraduate and graduate courses with faculty. She served as a strong advocate for all students in the elected positions of vice president for the UNLV Association of Biology Graduate Students and Treasurer for the UNLV Chapter for the American Society of Microbiology. McKenna’s skill and dedication in teaching have been recognized by the UNLV Outstanding Graduate Student Teacher Award and Women’s Council Recognition Award.

McKenna is motivated to become an independent academic researcher. She looks forward to providing an inclusive, intellectually stimulating, and fun environment for her future students to learn and grow.