Rebecca Anthouard McDonald, PhD

Rebecca Anthouard McDonald, PhD has over 10 years of experience in the field of microbiology and bacteriology. Rebecca Anthouard began their career in 2006 as a Graduate Student Researcher at the University of Michigan, where they studied the virulence mechanisms of Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of cholera. During this time, they performed a high-throughput screen that identified several inhibitors of cholera toxin production, and characterized the mechanisms of action for 2 of these inhibitors in vitro, and tested their efficacy in vivo.

In 2010, Rebecca was a Graduate Student Intern at Trius Therapeutics, where they cloned, purified, and crystalized protein targets of lead drug compounds, and helped solve the crystal structures of protein targets + inhibitors to determine their interaction.

In 2013, Rebecca became a Freelance Manuscript Language Editor at AJE - American Journal Experts, where they edited the language and grammar of over 140 scientific manuscripts to improve clarity without changing the authors' meaning.

In 2014, Rebecca was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In Peggy Cotter's Lab, they studied the molecular mechanisms of a newly-identified two-component system critical for virulence of Bordetellae species, which cause whooping cough in humans and kennel cough in dogs. In Anthony Richardson's lab, they used molecular genetics and chemical biology to study how polyamines, small aliphatic peptides, kill Staphylococcus aureus.

Since 2017, Rebecca has been with Vast Therapeutics, initially as a Senior Microbiologist and currently as Director of Bacteriology. In this role, they lead the pre-clinical microbiology program, planning and executing in vitro and in vivo studies to support IND-enabling studies. Rebecca Anthouard also manages and trains junior scientists to ensure efficient and high-quality work.

Rebecca Anthouard McDonald, PhD received their high school diploma from the International Academy in 2002. Rebecca Anthouard then attended Albion College, where they earned a BA in Chemistry and German in 2006. In 2007, they began their PhD studies in Microbiology at the University of Michigan Medical School, which they completed in 2013.