Cassie Holmes’s interest in clinical research began with a neurosurgical research internship at the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, Maryland. She worked closely with Dr. Bizhan Aarabi and his team, culminating in her first publication in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine. She developed a strong commitment to ethical, high-quality human subject research, leading her to pursue a career in clinical research at the National Institutes of Health.

Her current research interest is investigating skin microbes in patients with inflammatory skin disease and in healthy individuals. She works closely with Dr. Heidi Kong and her team in conducting translational studies to gain insight into the pathogenesis of skin diseases.