Dr. Linda Styer earned a doctoral degree in medical entomology and a masters degree in epidemiology from the University of California, Davis.  In 2003, she joined the Wadsworth Center, first as a post-doctoral scientist in the Arbovirology Laboratory, and then as a Research Scientist in the Bloodborne Viruses Laboratory.  The Bloodborne Viruses laboratory serves as the public health reference laboratory for human immunodeficiency (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing in New York State.  Dr. Styer’s research interests include the development of new molecular diagnostic tests for the detection, quantification, or characterization of bloodborne viruses and the evaluation of FDA approved diagnostic tests and diagnostic testing algorithms.  Recently completed studies include the development and validation of a real time PCR assay to detect and quantify HIV-2 RNA in patient plasma, an analysis of HIV testing algorithms, and an evaluation of the accuracy of several FDA approved rapid HIV tests.  Future research projects will focus on developing a HIV-2 DNA assay to confirm HIV-2 infection and ultra sensitive methods to detect and quantify HIV-2 RNA.