Born and raised in Tampa, Fla, as the youngest of five children and a first-generation college student, (COPH) alumna Mae Horne grew up surrounded by public service. Her mother and stepfather worked as ER nurses, and her father served as a lieutenant firefighter and paramedic. When the COVID-19 pandemic placed all three on the frontlines, her appreciation for health care and public health workers deepened, along with her passion for emerging infectious diseases.
鈥淚鈥檝e always admired the impact my family had on individual lives,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut I was equally drawn to the science, the curiosity to understand why things happen and how we can use that knowledge to make a broader impact.鈥
That curiosity began in high school when she read 鈥淭he Hot Zone鈥 by Richard Preston. The book opened her eyes to the world of emerging pathogens and infectious disease outbreaks.
When she arrived at the COPH in 2019, Horne pursued concurrent bachelor鈥檚 degrees in microbiology and , along with a minor in .
鈥淚 chose USF because it offered the perfect combination of strong foundations in microbiology through the College of Arts and Sciences and a pioneering College of Public Health, which is the highest ranked in the state,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 was particularly drawn to USF鈥檚 emphasis on infectious diseases within its public health curriculum.鈥
During her first semester, she joined the Science Education Alliance- Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science wet lab research program under Dr. Richard Pollenz in the Department of Molecular Biosciences at the USF College of Arts and Sciences. There, she isolated the bacteriophage Secretariat and began studying genes that could inform new therapeutics targeting antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
鈥淔rom day one, Dr. Pollenz taught me what it truly means to be a scientist,鈥 she said. 鈥淗e reinforced the importance of resilience in research and never stopping asking questions. And, he reminded me that the work we do could one day save someone鈥檚 life. Hands down, he is the reason I am the scientist I am today.鈥
That same semester, the COVID-19 pandemic began. Balancing two degrees during a rapid shift to virtual learning was challenging, but Horne said she found stability in the BSPH structure. Because the program was already designed to be fully accessible online, the transition was smoother than anticipated.
鈥淪tudying public health during a pandemic made my education feel immediately relevant and urgent,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t reinforced the importance of infectious disease surveillance, data-driven policy and community-focused interventions.鈥
From left to right: Mae Horne (second from left) and other COPH and USF alumni are pictured in Italy in summer of 2022. All are recipients of the 2022 Genshaft鈥慓reenbaum Global Explorers Research Award, which allowed the group to travel during the peak of the COVID-19 Delta wave[NP1] to collect data to better inform U.S. pandemic preparedness and public health policy implementation. This work has since been presented at numerous state, national and international conferences. (Photo courtesy of Horne)
Making every moment of her undergrad experience count, Horne gained early professional experiences, which she said reinforced her interdisciplinary interests. As an intern with the Florida Department of Health鈥檚 Arbovirus Sentinel Chicken Surveillance Program, she helped monitor Eastern Equine Encephalitis and West Nile virus activity across Florida counties, ensuring rapid communication with public health authorities to support vector control measures.
She also worked as a clinical research assistant at James A. Haley Veterans鈥 Hospital in Tampa, processing samples for the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine trial and contributing to studies on diagnostic miscoding and barriers to health care access.
During her time at the COPH, Horne said she was also fortunate to work with and learn from , COPH associate dean of undergraduate studies through the USF Public Health Scholars program.
Under Dr. Oberne鈥檚 mentorship, Horne joined the Systematic Observational Masking and Distancing study, conducting field research across Tampa to examine masking behaviors and public health signage. The experience laid the foundation for a milestone achievement.
As a member of the Judy Genshaft Honors College, Horne and four fellow students were named recipients of the Genshaft-Greenbaum Global Explorer鈥檚 Award. In 2022, the team traveled independently to Italy to conduct a month-long cross-sectional observational study across four epidemiological hotspot cities during the COVID-19 pandemic. They collected observational and GIS-mapped data on masking and distancing behaviors under Italy鈥檚 FFP-2 public transport mandate, with the goal of informing United States pandemic preparedness and policy.
鈥淭his experience was transformative,鈥 Horne said. 鈥淚t gave me a deeper appreciation for international collaboration and the lessons we can learn from other countries to better prepare for future outbreaks.鈥
Horne said Dr. Oberne also nominated her as the 2022 student representative to the and supported her in receiving which enabled her to attend the American Public Health Association annual meeting later that year in Boston. While at the conference, Horne was able to network with people who would later become her department faculty in her current doctoral program.
She graduated from USF in 2023 earning a 4.0 GPA in her BSPH program. Immediately after commencement, Horne entered the PhD program in infectious diseases and microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health. Now a doctoral candidate, she conducts research in the Silva Laboratory at the Rangos Research Center within University of Pittsburgh Medical Center鈥檚 Children鈥檚 Hospital of Pittsburgh. Her work focuses on chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a re-emerging mosquito-borne pathogen with expanding global reach due in part to climate-driven changes in vector habitats.
Her research examines how chikungunya virus attaches to and enters human cells, which Horne said is a critical first step in infection. A central question guiding her work is why certain viral strains cause more severe disease than others.
Mae Horne suited up in BSL-3 PPE at the A-BSL3 facility in Rangos Research Center, UPMC Children鈥檚 Hospital, during training to work with Chikungunya virus, investigating how host entry factors influence viral infection and pathogenesis. (Photo courtesy of Horne)
鈥淢y BSPH gave me a strong foundation in epidemiology, disease ecology, outbreak response and health systems,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat training shaped how I approach mechanistic virology questions while continually asking how these findings translate to global health impact.鈥
Horne鈥檚 growing expertise has earned national recognition. In 2025, she was selected as one of sixteen individuals nationwide to attend the Frontiers in Emerging, Re-emerging and Zoonotic Diseases training course organized by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the Morehouse School of Medicine. She was also named a 2025 recipient of the RK Mellon Institute for Pediatric Research Trainee Award, a competitive two-year award supporting her work on strain-specific differences in CHIKV infection and disease severity in pediatric populations.
Mae Horne (center) was selected as one of only sixteen participants nationwide to attend the NIAID Frontiers in Emerging, Re-emerging and Zoonotic Diseases Advanced Training Course in 2025, held in Atlanta at Morehouse School of Medicine. This is an immersive training course in emerging pathogen biology and pandemic preparedness, designed to cultivate the next generation of infectious disease scientists and future public health leaders. (Photo courtesy of Horne)
In her current work, Horne said she applies interdisciplinary training every day.
鈥淭he public health education I received at the COPH helps me interpret molecular data through the lens of real-world disease burden, think critically about transmission and surveillance and understand how social, environmental and ecological factors influence the emergence of pathogens such as CHIKV,鈥 she said. 鈥淭his perspective allows me to connect molecular mechanisms to public health relevance, ask more impactful research questions and communicate my findings effectively to both scientific and broader public health audiences.鈥
Mae Horne presenting her PhD research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Research Symposium. (Photo courtesy of Horne)
Looking ahead, Horne plans to complete her doctoral training and pursue a postdoctoral fellowship focused on emerging viral pathogens in high-containment environments. She hopes to work within institutions such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the World Health Organization or the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Her long-term goal is to strengthen global preparedness for emerging pathogens by understanding how viruses evolve, cross species barriers and spark outbreaks.
鈥淢y time at the COPH was essential to both the development of my professional goals and my acceptance into my current PhD program,鈥 Horne said. 鈥淚 was uniquely prepared for this program because it is one of only a handful of doctoral tracks in the country that integrates advanced molecular microbiology training within a public health framework. My BSPH from the COPH provided me with a strong foundation in epidemiology, disease ecology, outbreak response and health systems. That knowledge shapes how I approach mechanistic virology questions while continually asking how these findings translate to global health impact.鈥
Fast Five
What did you dream of becoming when you were young?
A pianist or composer.
Where would we find you on the weekend?
Reading a book at home with my cats or probably in the lab, if we鈥檙e being honest.
What is the last book you read?
鈥淩ed Rising鈥 by Pierce Brown.
What superpower would you like to have?
The ability to always summon a perfectly prepared baked potato鈥攖ruly an essential superpower.
What鈥檚 your all-time favorite movie?
Oppenheimer.