Before joining PBA in 2008, Dr. Szegedi worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.Trained as a chemist, biochemist, and molecular biologist, Dr. Szegedi has worked in the fields of microbiology, cancer biology, nutritional biochemistry, bionanotechnology, and psychoneuroimmunology. She has several years experience teaching and training undergraduate students. She is the recipient of several academic scholarships and grants, two postdoctoral fellowships from the American Cancer Society, and a prestigious departmental award for her doctoral work. She has attended numerous conferences and has several publications in refereed scientific journals to her credit. Dr. Szegedi is an active member of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.