Sheila Gonzalez, a 2nd-year graduate student in the Microbiology Graduate Program, was awarded a Summer Sloan Mini-Grant to support her research. The University of Iowa Sloan Center and the Office of the Vice President for Research provide the award to assist graduate students in their research endeavors and demonstrate appreciation for their commitment. Sheila works in the laboratory of Dr. Jessica Tucker, which focuses on the role of transfer RNA regulation during oncogenic gammaherpesvirus infection. Sheila is investigating a host protein, stimulated by interferon and capable of cleaving transfer RNAs, that restricts gammaherpesvirus infection. The Summer Sloan Mini-Grant will assist Sheila in generating a custom antibody and will propel Sheila’s ability to dissect the regulation and function of this antiviral protein.