About Sara
Email: spvpg@illinois.edu
Title: Scientific Specialist, Life Sciences Studies
Office Address
Sara can be found in room 2026 at the Forbes building or the Pest Management Laboratory (The Kinney Lab) at INHS.
Degrees
2024–M.S. Molecular Biology, Western Illinois University
2020–B.S., Biology, Molecular Genetics emphasis, University of Córdoba.
2016– Higher Technician in Pathological Anatomy and Cytology, Ilipa Magna, Sevilla, Spain. — Two-Year Advanced Vocational Training (Spain), Equivalent to: Associate Degree in Laboratory Technology / Histology & Cytology
Personal Information
Sara P. Villazan Perez-Girones joined INHS on September 1, 2023, as a Visiting Scientific Specialist. She completed an associate’s degree in Pathology and Gynecology in Sevilla, Spain, with internships in hospitals working on cytology, immunology, cancer diagnosis, and autopsies. Sara completed her undergraduate in Biology with a concentration in molecular genetics at the Universidad de Córdoba, Spain, and a thesis on the genetic diversity of endangered Spanish sheep species. Sara attended a 1-year internship at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland, working on the genetic identification of ticks from yellow-necked mice. In 2021, Sara came to Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL, for a Master’s in Biological Sciences to work on tick-borne diseases in white-footed mice.