Alumni Interview w/

Max Krist
Tell us about yourself
Hey there! I’m Max and I’m currently a
research scientist here at the UW in the
Department of Medicine at the UW
Center for Emerging and Re-Emerging
Infectious Diseases. I graduated in 2019
with both a Bachelor of Science in
Microbiology and a Bachelor of Science
in Medical Laboratory Science. My role
within the UW Microphiles was as Lead
Editor for the Microphiles Journal which
I had a hand in helping create.

What have you been doing since you
graduated?
Since graduating from UW, I’ve spent the
majority of my time working in the
research lab and preparing to apply to
medical school. In my personal life, I
enjoy spending time outdoors playing
soccer and backpacking.
How did you end up as a research
scientist?
After graduating, I spent the summer
TAing for the UW MLS program Clinical
Microbiology course while applying for
various clinical and research lab
positions. I was drawn to the position
that I’m in now because of its focus on
infectious disease immunology and
virology which are two huge interests of
mine. The one major skill that I was
lacking was eukaryotic cell culture
experience which I had never done
before. Thanks to some positive
references that I had within the academic
research community, as well as my
grades and prior undergraduate research
experience, I was offered the position.

What does an average day look like?

My research focuses on epitope mapping
various viruses, most notably SARS-CoV-
2 and HSV-2, to better understand

[1]
the CD4 and CD8 T cell response to
specific viral antigens. Every day in the
lab is a little bit different. Some days I’ll
spend hours taking care of different
eukaryotic cell cultures, like primary
CD4 and CD8 T cell lines. Other days I’ll
be setting up cell assays in the biosafety
hood. This involves a lot of precise
pipetting and careful attention to detail
to make sure I don’t make a mistake or
contaminate my work. Depending on the
type of assay I’m setting up, this can take
anywhere from a couple of hours to well
over a week. At the end of all this, there’s
a lot of data to manage and analyze, so
some days I’ll spend the majority of my
time going through data I’ve produced,
organizing it, and preparing it to be
presented to the rest of the group. I’m
also responsible for mentoring several
[3]
undergraduate students in our lab and
helping them with their independent
How did/didn't the microbiology
projects. There’s always an opportunity undergraduate program at UW
to learn about something new, whether it prepare you for your current job?
be a protocol/assay or a different I would say that the biggest thing that
research area through a presentation or the UW Microbiology undergraduate
published paper. program did for me was to give me the
self-confidence to quickly learn new
information, specifically scientific
information, and apply it practically.
Additionally, the base knowledge the
program taught me has been critical in
providing me with a strong foundation
with which to build my understanding of
contemporary virology and immunology.
One area that I feel the program could do
a better job in is spending more time
exposing students to molecular
microbiology and bioinformatics
methods. Molecular techniques are
becoming increasingly important and it

[2]
truly is the way of the future. It’s
important to appreciate where the field
started, but I feel it’s equally if not more
important to acknowledge where it’s
headed and prepare students for that
future.
Do you have any advice for current
microbiology majors?
Take advantage of all the great
undergraduate research opportunities
that the UW has to offer. If there is a
research area that you’re interested in, I
can guarantee you that there is a lab on
campus doing cutting-edge research in
that same area. Getting involved in this
research will not only provide you with
experience in a real-world research
environment, but it will also give greater
meaning and purpose to your academic
studies. The microbiology major can be
tough at times but hold on to what’s
important to you and I promise you’ll
come out the other side a stronger and
more capable scientist.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m currently applying to medical school
for the 2021-2022 application cycle. I
have a passion for pediatrics,
specifically pediatric oncology and
neonatal viral infectious disease. My
goal is to link research directly with
patients to continue to advance
medicine and expand what it’s capable
of.
Any other thoughts you'd like to
share?
If you have questions about the
microbiology major, the MLS program,
getting involved in undergraduate
research, applying to medical school, or
anything else, feel free to reach out to
me at maxkrist@uw.edu. I’d be more
than happy to help in whatever way I
can!

[1] Tissue culture room where I do all of

my cell culture work
[2] COS-7 cells expressing SARS-CoV-2
spike protein
[3] IFN𝜸 ELISA for a cell assay used to
identify SARS-CoV-2 peptide specific
CD4 T cell responses

Where Are They Now? is a Newsletter by the Microphiles at UW featuring a professionals

who graduated with a undergraduate degree in microbiology from UW within the past
couple of year. These are intended to highlight potential jobs or carrer paths current
Microbiology Majors can pursue after they graduate.