COM employee spotlight – meet Sarah Trotter

Name: Sarah Trotter      

Title:  Medical laboratory scientist         

Hometown:  Ord, Neb.

Talk about your job and what you like best about it:

I work at the Nebraska Public Health Lab. The main part of my job is testing for bioterrorism agents in the BSL3 lab. We work closely with the CDC and FBI if there is ever a concern in Nebraska. I got to be an Ebola fighter! That was a surreal experience for me.

We also do the influenza subtyping, E. coli subtyping, and salmonella serotyping. As a community, we just hear about someone getting the flu or having a salmonella infection, but there are many types and we do the differentiation so epidemiology can do its investigation.

So what do I like the most about my job? That would probably be the investigation part. Taking an organism we are presented with and identifying it!

Hobbies:

I love doing crafts, being with friends and family, being outdoors/boating/camping.

List three things people may not know about you:  

I have three little boys that I love dearly.

I’m a lifetime Girl Scout.

I’m the department cheerleader!!!