Pierce Longmire is a 4th year PhD candidate in the Graduate Program in Molecular Medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ. A first-generation college student, he earned his B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Arizona in 2018. He then received his M.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology in 2019 under supervision from Dr. Nathan Ellis at the University of Arizona Cancer Center. His thesis work investigated dysregulation of the DNA repair pathway, homologous recombination, in cancer and its impact on tumor resistance to platinum-based chemotherapeutics.  

In 2019, Pierce joined the Arizona Biological and Biomedical Sciences program to complete his doctoral studies. He joined Dr. Felicia Goodrum’s lab in March 2020 to study molecular mechanisms of human cytomegalovirus latency and reactivation. His current work seeks to understand how cytomegalovirus utilizes host DNA repair pathways to modulate virus replication as well as entry into and maintenance of latent infection. 

Pierce has received various awards including the NSF LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship. He also received the Infection and Inflammation as Drivers of Aging Predoctoral T32 Training Grant and a scholarship from the Achievement Reward for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation. 

Outside of his lab work, Pierce is passionate about advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion in science. He serves on the leadership team for the University of Arizona’s Colors of STEM, a graduate student-led collective that aims to provide professional and personal development for students from underrepresented minority groups in STEM majors. In his free time, Pierce enjoys music, film, science fiction, and running.