Biology senior Bailey Vinsant will soon test students on campus for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) for her research-endorsement project.

“I wanted to do some type of epidemiology project,” Vinsant said, “and I wanted to do a project over some type of disease that was fairly common.”

In the end, she chose MRSA.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, MRSA is bacteria that is resistant to many types of antibiotics and can possibly cause health problems. It is tested for around hospitals and medical buildings, but Vinsant is one of the first to try testing around the college setting.

“I want to test on people who live on campus,” Vinsant said. “Not only is it an ideal sample size, but you’re more likely to find it in a group-living situation where people are constantly in contact with one another.”

Dr. Jeannette Loutsch, associate professor of biology and Vinsant’s advisor for the project, gave insight into the disease.

“MRSA can be spread through using the same gym equipment or sharing towels,” Loutsch said. “If there is a colony found on campus, we may need to put up guidelines and clean the facilities deeper to prevent it from spreading.”

For now, Vinsant is putting the last-minute details into place. Soon, however, testing will go into full-swing. She has plans for the first test to occur over the summer trimester, the second during freshman orientation and a third with USAO’s athletes.