About Dr. V
Dr. Vander Schaaf has a Ph.D. in Cellular & Molecular Biology and is an Associate Professor at Olivet Nazarene University (ONU), where she teaches courses such as Microbiology, Cancer Biology, and Advanced Genetics. Dr. V loves involving her undergraduate students in research, especially in projects pertaining to human health and global health equity. Her heart for missional research has led her to take multiple biomedical research trips with Biology students to benefit patients at Kudjip Nazarene Hospital in Papua New Guinea. Keep reading for more details!
Research Projects
HPV Testing
Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a low-to-middle income country that has one of the highest burdens of cervical cancer in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted cervical cancer as a global public health problem for which elimination strategies are an urgent priority. Most cervical cancers are caused by high-risk strains of human papillomavirus (HPV).
Our research seeks to combat cervical cancer through optimization of an HPV DNA test that is cost sustainable (under $5 USD per test) and technologically achievable in countries like PNG. We have traveled to Kudjip Nazarene hospital in PNG to conduct this testing on a research basis, and the results are encouraging. Our research has already helped save lives! This is because women who test positive for cancer-causing HPV are often able to be treated that same day so they don't end up developing advanced cancer. We are working toward publishing our work and would like to expand this project to test a larger cohort of women in the future if funding allows.
Bamboo homes and subsistence farming provide shelter and food for a typical PNG family
ONU research students conducting HPV research in a Papua New Guinea hospital lab, being shadowed by the local lab manager
Rapid and accurate diagnosis of a causative microbial pathogen is very important for effective treatment of a patient. In developed countries like the United States, expensive mass spectrometry equipment can diagnose the pathogen to enable appropriate treatment. However, this equipment is cost-prohibitive for many low-resource hospitals. Thus, having an affordable diagnostic approach would be beneficial.
In collaboration with a computer engineer at Point Loma Nazarene University and our local Riverside hospital lab, we have been developing a website/app that aims to identify disease-causing urinary tract pathogens by analyzing a picture of the microorganism growing on a petri dish. The long-term goal would be to have a low-cost but accurate way to diagnose pathogens in a low-resource setting like Papua New Guinea.
ONU research student collects photos of bacteria at the local hospital lab
Bacteria App
Publications & Presentations
Identification of Microbial Species Using an Instance Segmentation Model
Davis, C., Lange, A., Blaszczyk, S., Heldt, H., Vander Schaaf, N., & Manjarrés, J. (2024). 2024 IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine (BIBM), 4901-4908.
DNA Methylation Dynamics and Dysregulation Delineated by High-throughput Profiling in the Mouse
Zhou W, Hinoue T, Barnes B, Mitchell O, Iqbal W, Lee SM, Foy KK, Lee KH, Moyer EJ, VanderArk A, Koeman JM, Ding W, Kalkat M, Spix NJ, Eagleson B, Pospisilik JA, Szabó PE, Bartolomei MS, Vander Schaaf NA, Kang L, Wiseman AK, Jones PA, Krawczyk CM, Adams M, Porecha R, Chen BH, Shen H, Laird PW. (2022) Cell Genom. doi: 10.1016/j.xgen.2022.100144. PMID: 35873672; PMCID: PMC9306256.
Routine, Cost-Effective SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance Testing Using Pooled Saliva Limits Viral Spread on a Residential College Campus
Vander Schaaf, N.A., Fund, A.J., Munnich, B.V., Zastrow, A.L., Fund, E.E., Senti, T.L., Lynn, A.F., Kane, J.J., Love, J.L., Long, G.J., Troendle, N.J., Sharda, D.R. (2021) Microbiology Spectrum, 9:e01089-21. https://doi.org/10.1128/Spectrum.01089-21.
In vivo Application of the REMOTE-control System for the Manipulation of Endogenous Gene Expression
Vander Schaaf, N.A., Oghamian, S., Park, J.-A., Kang, L., Laird, P.W., Lee, K.-H. (2019) Journal of Visualized Experiments, (145), e59235. doi:10.3791/59235.
Chemoorganotrophic Bacteria From Lake Fryxell, Antarctica, Including Pseudomonas Strain LFY10, a Cold-Adapted, Halotolerant Bacterium Useful in Teaching Labs
Baker, J.M., Vander Schaaf, N.A, Cunningham, A.M.G., Hang, A.C., Reeves, C.L., Huffman, E.R., Riester, C.J., Madigan, M.T., & Sattley, W.M. (2019) Frontiers in Microbiology, 10:156. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00156
Origins of Cancer: Tackling Provocative Questions
Solitro, A.R. & Vander Schaaf, N.A. (2017) Genes & Cancer, 8(7-8), 608–612. doi:10.18632/genesandcancer.150.
The Chlorobiaceae, Chloroflexaceae, and Heliobacteriaceae
Madigan, M.T., Vander Schaaf, N.A., and Sattley, W.M. (2017) In: “Modern Topics in the Phototrophic Prokaryotes: Environmental and Applied Aspects” (Hallenbeck, P.C., ed.), 139-161, Springer, Berlin.
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Cold-Active, Heterotrophic Bacteria from the Highly Oligotrophic Waters of Lake Vanda, Antarctica
Vander Schaaf, N.A., Cunningham, A.M.G., Cluff, B.P., Kraemer, C.K., Reeves, C.L., Riester, C.J., Slater, L.K., Madigan, M.T., and Sattley, W.M. (2015) Microorganisms, 3, 391–406.
In the Scientific Literature
Our lab was honored to be featured on the cover of the spring 2025 Olivet Nazarene University magazine! You can read more of our research story on p46: Olivet The Magazine; Think On These Things - Spring '25 by Olivet Nazarene University - Issuu)
In the Spotlight
In Presentation
Screening for High-Risk HPV in Kudjip, Papua New Guinea & the Validation of a Low-Cost HPV Detection Assay
Co-Oral Presentation, Scholar Week, Olivet Nazarene University, Bourbonnais, IL, April 2025
Advancing Women’s Health through HPV Testing in Papua New Guinea
Oral Presentation, invited guest speaker for a meeting of Zonta Club, Kankakee County, IL February 2025
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The Effect of Dnmt1 Manipulation on Intestinal Tumorigenesis
Vander Schaaf, N.A., Khol, B.C., Kang, L, Kalkat, M, Foy, K.K., Oghamian, S, Park, J, Dina, O, Hinoue, T, Lee, K, Laird, P.W.
Poster Presentation, 2019 Cancer Biology Training Consortium Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, October 2019
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Epigenetics & Colon Cancer: A Tale of Mice, Microbes, and Methyl Groups
Oral Presentation, “Science Talks” Series, Grand Rapids Community College, February 2019
The Effect of Dnmt1 Overexpression on Intestinal Tumorigenesis
Vander Schaaf, N.A., Park, J, Dina, O, Lee, K, Laird, P.W.
Poster Presentation, AACR Annual Meeting 2018, Chicago, Illinois, April 2018
Poster Presentation, FASEB Meeting: Gastrointestinal Tract XVII, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, August 2017
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Cultivation and Description of Fourteen Strains of Cold-Active, Chemoorganotrophic Bacteria from Antarctica
Vander Schaaf, N.A. and Sattley, W.M.
Oral & Poster Presentations, 3rd Annual Hodson Colloquium, Indiana Wesleyan University,
October 2013
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Connect with Us
For any inquiries, please reach out to Dr. Vander Schaaf via email at navanderschaaf@olivet.edu.
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If you are a future or current ONU student who is interested in research, please email or stop by Dr. V's office to chat more!
If you would like to financially support our research or have used scientific equipment to donate, we would be very grateful for your support. Please email Dr. Vander Schaaf for details of our current needs or how to give.