Jolene Bowers Ph.D.

Dr. Bowers is a Research Assistant Professor at TGen North, the Pathogen and Microbiome Division of TGen. Her work centers around development of next-generation molecular tools for clinical diagnostics for infectious disease, antibiotic resistance detection, and for epidemiological surveillance of pathogens. Dr. Bowers’ team also works closely with public health agencies at the local, state, and national levels to apply cutting edge tools to investigate outbreaks and conduct epidemiological studies in support of these agencies.

Starting in February 2020, TGen North mounted an all-hands response to the COVID-19 pandemic, for which Dr. Bowers and her team were well-suited. She oversaw design and validation of a SARS-CoV-2 detection assay that received FDA authorization for emergency use in the newly constructed and certified TGen North CLIA Lab. She also managed TGen’s COVID Genomic Epidemiology Response, for which her team sequenced thousands of SARS-CoV-2 genomes to track the introduction and transmission of different viral strains into and around Arizona’s communities to support public health contact tracing efforts and help inform health policy.

Dr. Bowers joined TGen North in 2007, and received her Ph.D. from Northern Arizona University in 2016, focusing on the evolution and dissemination of a carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) known as Klebsiella pneumoniae ST258, and identifying genomic markers for identification and characterization of K. pneumoniae in complex specimens. Her dissertation work has served as a template for several studies at TGen North.

Publications

SELECT PUBLICATIONS

An Early Pandemic Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Population Structure and Dynamics in Arizona. Bowers, JR, JT Ladner, BB. Larsen, CM Hepp, E Bolyen, M Folkerts, K Sheridan, A Pfeiffer, H Yaglom, D Lemmer, JW Sahl, EA Kaelin, R Maqsood, NA Bokulich, G Quirk, TD Watts, K Komatsu, V Waddell, ES Lim, JG Caporaso, DM Engelthaler, M Worobey, P Keim. mBio Sep 2020, 11(5):e02107-20. doi: 10.1128/mBio.02107-20.

Genomic Analyses of Acute Flaccid Myelitis Cases Among a Cluster in Arizona Provide Further Evidence of Enterovirus D68 Role. Jolene R Bowers, Michael Valentine, Veronica Harrison, Viacheslav Y Fofanov, John Gillece, Josie Delisle, Bethany Patton, James Schupp 1, Krystal Sheridan, Darrin Lemmer, Scott Ostdiek, Harlori K Bains, Jennifer Heim, Tammy Sylvester, Siru Prasai, Melissa Kretschmer, Nicole Fowle, Kenneth Komatsu, Shane Brady, Susan Robinson, Kathryn Fitzpatrick, Gholamabbas Amin Ostovar, Eric Alsop, Elizabeth Hutchins, Kendall Jensen, Paul Keim, David M Engelthaler, mBio, 2019 Jan 22;10(1):e02262-18.

Improved Subtyping of Staphylococcus Aureus Clonal Complex 8 Strains Based on Whole-Genome Phylogenetic Analysis. Jolene R Bowers, Elizabeth M Driebe, Valerie Albrecht, Linda K McDougal, Mitchell Granade, Chandler C Roe, Darrin Lemmer, J Kamile Rasheed, David M Engelthaler, Paul Keim, Brandi M Limbago. mSphere, 2018 May 2;3(3):e00464-17. doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00464-17.

Direct Detection of Coccidioides From Arizona Soils Using CocciENV, a Highly Sensitive and Specific Real-Time PCR Assay. J R Bowers, K L Parise, E J Kelley, D Lemmer, J M Schupp, E M Driebe, D M Engelthaler, P Keim, B M Barker. Med Mycol, 2019 Feb 1;57(2):246-255. doi: 10.1093/mmy/myy007.