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Opinion: Santa Clarita Valley Resident Has Virus Named After Her

Many people have children or grandchildren named after them, maybe even a building, but how many people have a virus named after them?


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In the Fall of 2011, my sister, Ana Lucia Fuentes, a former Santa Clarita resident, was part of Loyola Marymount University’s Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science.

This program allowed students to build around the national experiment in bacteriophage genomics, where they had the opportunity to make significant contributions to the field of genomics by isolating, sequencing and analyzing their new findings.

In that process, Ana Lucia discovered a new virus. Opinion- Santa Clarita Valley Resident Has Virus Named After Her-1

After isolating it on a plaque, I was given the exciting news. As an aspiring doctor, she has always been driven to make her mark in the science field. Although we do not share the same dream, our goal of being there for one another has always been the same.

For that reason, my sister chose to name the virus after me: Ceci11.

I was more than thrilled to accept my other identity as non-lethal virus and distinct lytic mycobacteriophage that infects mycobacterial hosts. Not only does it expand to a collection of sequenced phage genomes to a total of sixty, but they also join together to infect a common bacterial host.

Being able to lead a double life as a virus and person has been a great story and experience that I love to share with my co-workers and friends.

Although being named after a virus might seem odd to most, to me, it demonstrates how strong our bond is as sisters. As our careers lead us toward different directions and parts of the world, this shows me that we will always find a way to share the experiences together.

Ceci Fuentes is a KHTS AM-1220 writing and social media intern. She graduated from West Ranch High School in 2012 and is currently studying at the University of San Diego for a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and Communication Studies.  

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Opinion: Santa Clarita Valley Resident Has Virus Named After Her

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