Liliane Moorhead spends summer at a Navy laboratory studying the effects of radiofrequency radiation to improve treatment for directed energy injuries.
Biology major Liliane Moorhead spent her summer advancing critical biomedical research through a prestigious internship at the Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) San Antonio, located on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Her work focused on the effects of radiofrequency radiation on immune and vascular cells of the body.
Part of a select group of 10 interns, Moorhead immersed herself in laboratory research, spending full days conducting experiments under the guidance of federal research scientists. She developed a cell model to study immune responses to directed energy exposure, performed real-time reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) to analyze changes in gene expression, and tested barrier permeability using transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) assays.
NAMRU San Antonio, part of Navy Medicine Research & Development (NMR&D), conducts gap-driven combat casualty care, craniofacial, and directed energy research in support of Navy, Marine Corps and joint U.S. warfighter health readiness and lethality while engaged in routine and expeditionary operations.
Moorhead's internship was supported as part of a larger project funded by the Office of Naval Research’s Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP). NREIP places college students in Department of the Navy laboratories where they participate in Naval research for 10 weeks during the summer.
Read the full story on the College of Arts and Sciences News.
Spotlight Recipient
Liliane Moorhead '26
Biology major