About Me

Hi there! I’m Jenny Jones, infectious disease research scientist, science fantasy author, and a lot of other things. I’m proud to be Nicaraguan-American and originally from Miami, Florida, but I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where I specialize in pediatric viral infections like enterovirus D68. I got my Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina in Microbiology & Immunology and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Lakdawala lab at the University of Pittsburgh. My specialty is reverse genetics of viruses: in other words, I reconstruct viruses from sequence data to figure out what makes ’em tick.

I’ve been a writer since my childhood days in Miami, but I began work on my first novel, The Orphan Race, during graduate school. My writing reflects on the concept of identity and the conflicts that emerge because of it. I love to paint, and this these twin passions led to my successful first Kickstarter for the illustrated editions of The Orphan Race!

My journey has only just begun. I’m glad you’re here for it.