Dr. Sawyer received her Ph.D. from Cornell University in 2003 and then conducted postdoctoral research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center until 2007. In 2011, Dr. Sawyer received a PECASE award from President Barack Obama for her research and mentoring activities. Dr. Sawyer has garnered international recognition for her studies of primate genetics and genomics, and how they facilitate viral infections both in the lab and in nature. Her lab continues to work towards an improved understanding of the primate animal models critical for HIV-1 vaccine development.