Doctoral student makes history with Phil Gramm Fellowship

Brittany Shapiro ’26, a doctoral student in the Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine, is one of seven Texas A&M students selected to receive the 2025 U.S. Senator Phil Gramm Doctoral Fellowship. Shapiro is also the first doctoral student from the Vashisht College of Medicine to be selected for this prestigious university-wide award, which promotes, encourages and rewards outstanding teaching and research by Texas A&M doctoral students.  

Nominees are exceptional in their own right. Each must have a cumulative graduate grade point average of 3.0 or higher and an approved dissertation research proposal on file in the Graduate and Professional School to be nominated for this award. They also need to excel in college-level teaching, exhibit outstanding mentoring and pedagogical skills, exemplify the meaning of scholar and mentor, and have a reputation for ethical behavior and methodologies in all aspects of scholarly life. The recipients, who receive $5,000 and a plaque, will be honored at an invitation-only ceremony on Oct. 30.  

Shapiro, who is planning to graduate in May 2026, has made a very strong impression on the college.  

“Brittany is very impressive and has had such a multi-faceted successful journey while at Texas A&M,” said Jon T. Skare, PhD, a Regents Professor and associate head of the Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology who serves as Shapiro’s doctoral advisor and supported her nomination. “She’s been a selfless individual and fits all the Aggie Core Values that we talk about. When she takes something on, she does it—and she does it well. She also has a passion for what we’re trying to do here and is committed to educating people to show the strength of what we do and why it’s important.” 

Fearless

Growing up in southern Maryland, Shapiro discovered her affinity for science during her high school biology and chemistry classes. The challenging coursework intrigued her, leading to the realization that she wanted a career in the sciences. Shapiro initially set her sights on becoming a physician, which she saw as the logical career progression. 

However, after enrolling in the University of Maryland-College Park as a biochemistry major, she had a life-changing moment while analyzing a fruit fly in a genetics research lab.  

“I realized that I could make a career out of this,” Shapiro said, adding that she soon changed her major to biology. “The curiosity that drives a research career really stuck out to me. You can sit down and ask any question you want and really delve into a pathway. I was more interested in the question that drives the science and the biology behind the disease rather than the disease manifestation itself.” 

She also started assisting younger undergraduate students in the research lab.  

“I found that I was really interested in having a career where I could do benchwork and science, and also mentor other students,” Shapiro said. “That’s really led to the career trajectory that I’m on.” 

Outside of the classroom, Shapiro strived to develop a strong community around her, including being involved in numerous student organizations.  

“Once I made the decision that I didn’t want to go to medical school anymore and instead wanted to go to graduate school, I had a really good support system that helped me navigate that process,” she said. 

She applied to top graduate programs, including Texas A&M based on the influence of one of her University of Maryland professors, who was an Aggie. However, she had to do virtual interviews because of the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“I knew that the science at Texas A&M interested me, and I had great interviews, but it was really hard picturing myself moving here based off of a Zoom interview,” she said. “I was deciding between schools and once I was accepted by Texas A&M, the college invited me to come for a tour.” 

When she arrived in Aggieland, she had the opportunity to interact with faculty and experience College Station.  

“But the biggest selling point was that they linked me to a student buddy who was very welcoming and who loved the research she was working on,” Shapiro said. “I really clicked with the students here and that’s when I could really see myself moving to Texas—and the student buddy became one of my best friends.” 

Begin again

Shapiro hasn’t regretted her decision to move 1,450 away from home to start a fresh educational experience. Her family was supportive of her decision and helped her move—although her parents cautioned her about getting a pet early on. Shapiro disregarded their advice and immediately headed to Aggieland Humane Society, where she fell in love with and adopted an orange cat, Winston, after her favorite character on the television show, “New Girl.”

She also fell in love with Texas A&M and the College of Medicine.  

“Texas A&M has been so welcoming,” Shapiro said. “I got really lucky when I chose Dr. Skare’s lab to be my first rotation in the required rotations. He has a really great group of people in his lab, and I immediately developed a connection with an older graduate student, who became a good friend.” 

Shapiro also managed to balance the required coursework with those mandatory rotations in her first semester.  

“I put a lot of my attention into the lab work so I could find what lab home I wanted to join at the end of that semester,” she said.  

Wildest dreams

Yet, Shapiro said she still is surprised about how her graduate school path has unfolded.  

“What I’m doing now is so different than what I thought I would be doing when I came into graduate school,” she said. “I thought I was going to work in a developmental biology lab or something related to what I did as an undergraduate. What I’m doing now is bacterial genetics through studying the organism that causes Lyme disease. I also knew I was interested in RNA regulation but until I heard about projects available in Dr. Skare’s lab, I hadn’t pictured doing that through the lens of the bacteria instead of focusing on the host.” 

Now with a major paper to be submitted soon, her defense set for March and graduation on the horizon in May, Shapiro has her hands full. But she’s already pinpointing highlights from her soon-to-be completed graduate program.  

“In my early stage, the highlight was being trained by the different members of my lab who created the best environment when I was in my early learning phase,” she said.  

She also credits being involved in student organizations with creating a balance in her life.  

“Lab work isn’t always going to work out, so it’s nice to have other things going on that can bring enjoyment when science is not working,” she said. 

Shapiro also has high praise for her faculty advisor.  

“Dr. Skare has been really great with helping me run the undergraduate research in our lab,” she said. “I’ve gotten a lot of mentorship experience working with a team of four undergrads at once.” 

Blank space

Shapiro also has been a true trailblazer in the college through focusing on teaching.

“Our program doesn’t have a teaching requirement where a lot of graduate programs do,” she said.  “When I got here, I knew I wanted to get teaching experience because I knew I wanted a career in academia, and I needed to build that skillset.” 

She eventually grabbed the opportunity to assist with the introductory graduate course (MSCI 601), which teaches first-year students how to interact with primary literature. Although not an official teaching assistant, Shapiro provided feedback to students on assignments and guided their journal discussions while also offering qualitative assessments of students’ work to the instructor of record. 

After that initial experience, Shapiro sought field-specific experience and connected with the instructor of a medical sciences immunology course (MSCI 635).  

“That was a really great experience because that was a larger-scale class that is more related to my own research,” she said.  

During these instructional roles and as a research lab guide and a mentor, Shapiro is known for building strong and supportive relationships with the younger students through engaging them where they are developmentally—including regularly dropping cultural references around popular television shows and Taylor Swift.  

“I’ve been in the lab for four years now,” she said, laughing. “Dr. Skare acts like he doesn’t know Taylor Swift things—but I know he does, because I say it a lot.” 

Others also have taken note. As a result of Shapiro’s work, the college created graduate assistant teaching positions so that other medical science students can get classroom instructional experience. 

Ready for it?

Shapiro’s graduate experiences haven’t been limited to the classroom and the research lab. She assisted with developing lesson plans around tick safety for K-12 students that gives them hands-on experience in science through an age-appropriate lab exercise.  

She has also been active in the college’s Graduate Student Organization, served as the college’s ambassador for the Hagler Fellow Induction Ceremony and received the 2023-24 Eugene and Millicent Goldschmidt Graduate Student Award from the Texas branch of the American Society for Microbiology. 

Now with graduation on the horizon, Shapiro is beginning to consider what’s next. She is once again looking at continuing her education in infectious diseases.

“I’ll be really sad to leave Texas A&M because I really love the community that I have here, but I want to have a career in science and to be like Dr. Skare,” she said. “I’m interested in pursuing science and inspiring scientists to keep asking questions because one day what we’re doing in the lab could lead to the development of therapeutics that help people.”