Survivor, scientist, conservationist: Resilience and research fuel Double Eagle

May 19, 2025

If you’d asked Kristin Bailey what she expected her college experience to include, wolves, zombies and cancer wouldn’t have made the list. 

But Bailey, a spring 2025 graduate from the Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies, was surprised to find her academic journey included those three things, and more. 

Despite beginning her academic journey as a non-traditional student on Georgia Southern University’s Armstrong Campus in Savannah, the first few years of her undergraduate program were relatively traditional until 2018, when she took a trip to the Swiss Alps with the Department of Biology to study Alpine biology. It was this trip that changed her life in more ways than one.

“We got to spend three weeks in Switzerland studying Alpine biology and that just changed my world,” Bailey said. “That’s when I decided I wanted to get into research. It was a pivotal moment for me.”

Along with finding her love of research, Bailey also found something more ominous.

“I found a lump in my breast,” Bailey said. “When I got back from the Alps, I went to the doctor to get it checked out. They basically told me to just watch it and wait.”

Uncomfortable with that recommendation, Bailey continued searching for help on her own.

“I looked into all of the breast health events with free mammograms,” Bailey said. “All of them have requirements based on age or family history, and I didn’t have any of the factors that would make me high risk.”

She credits her life-saving mammogram to a nurse she met at Georgia Southern.

“When I realized that I could go to the clinic on campus, I went in for an annual wellness check,” Bailey said. “The nurse who took care of me felt the lump and immediately put in the mammogram order.”

Getting the order was not the end of her struggle to get diagnosed.

“I guess the imaging place also decided I was low risk, because three months later, the nurse who put in the order called me to check in and see how the mammogram went,” Bailey said. “When I told her they hadn’t seen me yet, she was the one who called them and advocated for me. After she raised hell, I was finally able to get the test and that’s when I found out.”

After a year of fighting for doctors to take her seriously, Bailey finally received a diagnosis: she had stage three breast cancer.

“It was a journey,” Bailey said. “I have to really thank and admire the nurse who decided to put in the mammogram and not look at the other factors, and the fact that she raised hell to get me that mammogram. I feel like she is one of the people who saved my life, because if I had waited any longer, it likely would have turned into stage four, which is incurable.”

Her diagnosis came just one month before finals in November of 2019. Her immediate concern was that she might not be able to finish her degree on time.

“Right after getting diagnosed, you’re not in the right mental space to be able to do finals,” Bailey said. “I thought I might have to postpone my bachelor’s, but the support I received from Georgia Southern made it possible for me. I know a lot of students have situations pop up that make them feel overwhelmed and like they can’t continue, but I want them to know now what I learned. Talk to your professors and to the different departments at the university because there are so many resources available to help you through your challenges.”

Bailey didn’t delay her education. She worked with Student Affairs to determine what resources were available to her and, with their assistance and the support of her program leaders, she continued. While the shift to online instruction in 2020 was a rough adjustment for many people, it came as a welcome change for Bailey.

“It just so happened that I started treatment the same year of COVID,” Bailey said. “I started chemo in January 2020 and I was so lucky when everything moved online. It made it a little easier. Even still, my professors and everyone were always willing to work with me no matter what was going on. The only reason I was able to finish my bachelor’s on time was because of how great Georgia Southern and the biology department were with everything I had going on.”

One way the biology program supported Bailey was by putting together a collection of comfort items for her to have during her treatments.

“Getting the care package, I never would’ve dreamed of something like that,” Bailey said. “When I came in and saw it, I started crying. It had individually wrapped gifts and a beautiful card. It was amazing. From comfort socks to tissues, each of the items was something small to soothe or comfort me during chemo, so I split them up as a little reward after each chemo session. It gave me a mood boost and helped me feel like I could get through it.”

In 2020, Bailey worked through her senior year and continued her research while enduring chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and a double mastectomy. She was awarded the 2019-2020 Undergraduate Research Scholar Award for her dedication to research while facing extreme adversity.

In December of 2020, she graduated with her bachelor’s degree. That same year, she went into remission.

“I would go to my treatments and then head right back to campus on my way home to work on my research,” Bailey said. “Even though it was COVID, my professors regularly saw me on campus. I was doing so much while trying to heal that I wasn’t able to recover fully. So after I graduated, I took a year and a half off to rest and work on my recovery.”

When she felt ready to start her master’s degree, there was only one school she was willing to consider.

“Georgia Southern was the only place I wanted to come back to to do my master’s because of the support system at the school and in the biology department,” Bailey said. “The support is never ending.”

The fact that returning to the biology program in the College of Science and Mathematics would allow Bailey to reconnect with one of her biggest supporters, Professor Jennifer Zettler, Ph.D., only made her decision easier.

“I never imagined how amazing and willing to work with you the professors would be, but they were absolutely wonderful,” Bailey said. “Dr. Zettler was right there next to me through everything.”

As part of her master’s program, Bailey spent time researching the entomopathogenic fungus arthrophaga myriapodina, more commonly known as a zombie fungus, on the Armstrong Campus in Savannah.

“We did a bunch of investigations and proved this fungus’s existence here,” Bailey said. “It’s only ever been documented in the Northeastern United States, so this is the first case of it being in the Southeastern United States. We also found that it’s infecting a new genus of millipedes. It’s a lot of new information and it’s very exciting.”

The potential impact of her research reaches beyond fungi studies.

“Certain types of these fungi have been shown in lab tests to inhibit cancer cell migration,” Bailey said. “I’ve been obsessed with these kinds of fungi since I was diagnosed.”

The motivation to participate in research that other specialties could build on, with the hope of eventually curing cancer, was a driving force for Bailey following her own health battle, and what led her to specialize in this zombie fungus during her graduate studies.

“These fungi have a variety of unique compounds, and there’s no telling what can be done to help humans,” Bailey said. “I wanted to contribute to that body of knowledge. I’m very open about my journey and vocal about breast cancer awareness because it took me so long to get diagnosed, and things need to change.”

Her research led her to present at the Association of Southeastern Biologists annual meeting, where she was introduced to the Red Wolf Recovery Program. The program piqued her interest because she had always loved animals and even spent time volunteering as a foster home for a local animal rescue, Renegade Paws.

“My whole life, I was so dead set on wanting to be a veterinarian,” Bailey said. “But there are so many experiences I’ve had that made me realize I could help animals in so many different ways that aren’t being a vet. So that’s the plan now. I want to go into wildlife conservation.”

Following graduation, Bailey plans to work toward finding a position at one of the animal refuges participating in red wolf recovery.

“Red wolves are critically endangered, and they’re the only native wolves to the United States,” Bailey said. “There are so few left in the wild, conservation is important work. I’m hopeful I’ll be able to join this effort.”

From animal conservation to contributing to future cancer research, Bailey has one singular goal: to make an impact.

“I mainly just want to contribute,” Bailey said. “I’m excited about the potential of the future for all of my work.”