Dr. Long graduated summa cum laude from Gardner-Webb University with a B.S. in 2011. She received her Ph.D. in immunology and microbial pathogenesis from West Virginia University in 2016. Here, she studied the role of regulatory T cells and microRNAs in chemical allergy at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (CDC). After earning her doctorate, Dr. Long moved to Hamilton, Montana, to join Dr. Robert Heinzen’s group at the National Institutes of Health to work as an Intramural Research Training Award postdoctoral fellow. During this time, Dr. Long worked in the biosafety level 3 laboratory researching the causative agent of Q fever, Coxiella burnetii. She investigated both bacterial and host factors required for virulence and refined guinea pig models for infection, vaccination, and post-vaccination hypersensitivity. In 2019, Dr. Long received an Independent Research Scholar Award from NIH, allowing her to form an autonomous research group to continue her work on Coxiella burnetii.