As a proud member of the Navajo Nation, Carissa Sherman ’21 is using her Diné heritage and passion for helping people to combine Indigenous knowledge with Western science. While some may think that the best way to pursue a career in a STEM field is to attend a research-focused large university, Sherman, a former Molecular Biology major, has shown that a small liberal arts college like CC prepares students just as well as larger universities.
Sherman is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the Human Medical Genetics and Genomics Program (HMGGP) at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (CU-AMC). She is examining population-level pharmacogenetic variation and doing community-based participatory research on perspectives of genetics research. By looking at the ethical, cultural, legal, and social implications of genetic research, Sherman is attempting to find possible ways to advance equity in public health medicine.
Through her research in the Human Medical Genetics and Genomics Program, Sherman hopes to combine Indigenous knowledge and western science to further health equity. She is working on this with her faculty advisor, Dr. Katrina Claw, who is also from the Navajo Nation. Claw founded her own research lab, the Claw Indigenous Genomics and Ethics Laboratory, and works as an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at CU-AMC. In teaming up with Claw, Sherman has a particularly personal inspiration for this field of research.
“My mother and uncle are blind, attributed to a taboo in Diné (Navajo) culture, but genetics identifies it as Retinitis Pigmentosa,” Sherman says. “Both Indigenous knowledge and Western science have shaped my perspective, driving my desire to examine genetics in a culturally inclusive way. This led me to the Human Medical Genetics and Genomics Program and Dr. Katrina Claw’s lab at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.”
Sherman was accepted into the University of Washington Genome Sciences Summer Research Program during her junior year at CC but was unfortunately unable to attend due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, she was invited back the following year as she was applying to graduate programs and a professor there told Sherman about Claw and encouraged her to look at Claw’s work.
“I was excited to know there was someone like me, and I emailed out to arrange a meeting and applied to the program,” Sherman says. “I was drawn to Dr. Claw’s innovative and inspiring research, which crosses fields of personalized medicine, including pharmacogenomics, community-based participatory research, as well as ethical, legal, and social implications of genomics research, all of which is conducted primarily with Indigenous populations,” Sherman says. “It felt like kismet that Dr. Claw, who came from a similar background and shared many of my values and research passions, was at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.”
Sherman was named a Fulbright Semi-Finalist in 2021, earning a Study Award for Medical Anthropology at the University of Toronto. However, the university accepted Sherman for a PhD program, not a master’s program, and Sherman says she did not want to be away from home for that long, so she withdrew her application and applied to the University of Colorado Human Medical Genetics and Genomics Program.
“Fulbright showed me that people had faith that I could do a PhD, but also I enjoy learning,” Sherman says. “I felt, and still feel, that a PhD would provide me with many opportunities to support Indigenous peoples in genomics, including my tribe, who are vastly underrepresented.”
At CU-AMC, Sherman is working with the Strong Heart Study, one of the longest studies of cardiovascular disease among American Indians, for her thesis on genetic variation and markers associated with nicotine-related phenotypes within that population, with the goal of improving tobacco cessation efforts among Indigenous people who smoke commercial tobacco.
“Our research will help to advance precision medicine efforts for American Indian populations, while also contributing to greater representation in the field of genomics,” Sherman says. “Furthermore, my research also aims to examine perspectives from various interest-holders on the Navajo Nation on their views on genetics research, especially related to hypothetical return of results, as there is currently a moratorium, or essentially a ban on genetics research on the Navajo Nation. Our research projects with the Navajo Nation aim to inform future guidelines and policies related to genetic research on the Navajo Nation.”
For this research, Sherman was named a 2024 Gilliam Fellow, which saw the largest number of applicants in the program’s history.
Sherman is grateful for her time at CC, which gave her several transformative experiences.
Sherman spent the fall semester of her sophomore year in a study abroad program in Florence, Italy, led by Dr. Mike Taber ’86, M ’87, Professor and Associate Chair of the Education Department. “We stayed on the Block Plan, and took Italian language, philosophy of western science, and climate change classes,” she says.
Upon returning to campus, Taber told students about the Noyce Fellowship, which encourages scientific education and research.
“I enjoy teaching and learning and thought it would be a great opportunity to do both, and would help in future career paths,” Sherman says. She applied and was awarded the fellowship, where she joined several other CC students in teaching a science curriculum at a very small school district in La Veta, Colorado, a rural community about 100 miles from campus.
“Teaching Middle School Science in La Veta was an informative experience in learning how to develop and carry out lesson plans,” Sherman says. “I greatly enjoyed the excitement of the students. The experience for me also highlighted the importance of science curriculum in rural communities, where there may be challenges with funding and/or limited access to science experiments materials.”
Sherman was significantly involved in lab work and research while at CC. She worked as a Molecular Biology Research Lab Assistant for three years under Dr. Olivia Hatton, Associate Chair and Professor of the Molecular Biology Department, where Sherman was introduced to bench and wet lab techniques, worked with live specimen, prepared materials for intro-level classes, and managed lab inventory and its corresponding Material Safety Data Sheets. Sherman also met her now husband while doing research in the Molecular Biology Department.
“Dr. Hatton was very patient and understanding,” Sherman says. “I appreciated and knew that these were traits I wanted in a mentor: patience, kindness, and great at teaching.”
“While I’ve always been a bit in awe of Carissa, I’m not at all surprised at all she’s been able to – and will continue to – accomplish,” Hatton says. “From early on in the classroom and research lab, it was clear that Carissa is a sharp and thoughtful scientist driven by a seemingly insatiable curiosity.”
During her junior year, Sherman conducted research with Hatton and seven other CC students and alumni on the Epstein-Barr Virus and how it is associated with B cell cancers. Their research was conducted in collaboration with the Transplant Immunology Lab at Stanford University School of Medicine. Sherman and the other students co-authored the article with Hatton, which was published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology.
Sherman presented her part of the project at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, where she received a poster presentation award for her poster on the Epstein-Barr Virus and how it changes gene expression of host B cells.
Working on this project with Hatton and the other students was Sherman’s first exposure to scientific writing and it inspired her so much that to this day she tries to host similar writing groups for projects in her PhD program.
“I really enjoyed Dr. Hatton’s process, as we would all sit in a room together, write independently, and then share on the big screen and edit as a group,” Sherman says. “Dr. Hatton always made us feel we had an equal voice in the projects. I follow Dr. Hatton’s example and try to host writing groups in my projects.”
The fellowship with Taber and her multiple classroom and research experiences with Hatton at CC showed Sherman the kind of mentor she hopes to be someday.
In Summer 2020, Sherman was awarded first place in the Arkansas Medical Dental & Pharmaceutical Association’s essay competition for undergraduates with her essay, “Bordering on Hopeless: Social Justice in Healthcare,” where she talked about different social determinants that impact the health disparities among Indigenous people.
Sherman is enthusiastic about future opportunities in science policy and communication, given the broader implications of her research in these fields. “More immediately, I am interested in doing a post-doc, potentially with Dr. Claw or with Dr. Nanibaa’ Garrison at UCLA, a fellow Diné (Navajo) geneticist.”
Grateful for the exposure to multiple fields and career options her lab provides, Sherman feels a deep sense of purpose in enhancing the inclusivity of health science. “I believe one of my purposes in life is to improve our understanding of ‘health’ and make it more inclusive,” Sherman says. “My lab and program are crucial in helping me achieve this goal of fostering a science that is inclusive and considers diverse populations and perspectives. I am excited to continue exploring these paths and contributing to meaningful change in the future.”