Vestavia Hills alumnus becomes first graduate of UAB immunology program

When the next viral pandemic hits, Vestavia Hills’ Peyton Blaylock might be on the frontlines fighting it.

Blaylock is the first graduate from the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s undergraduate immunology program, formed to focus on the immune system and the role it plays in maintaining health and causing diseases.

The program was formed in the fall of 2017, a collaboration between the School of Medicine and College of Arts and Sciences, and was designed to attract students “interested in research and graduate training, as well as those seeking acceptance into professional programs such as medical school,” according to the university. Students are required to gain hands-on experience in the field as well.

Blaylock heard about the program from her adviser at UAB, and it fit perfectly with a desire that had formed when she had been in nursing school at the University of Alabama.

While at UA, Blaylock said she really enjoyed the portion of a particular nursing class that focused on the immune system and wished she could study it more. When she transferred to UAB and heard about the new program, it was a perfect match.

“I want to do this,” Blaylock remembered thinking at the time. “I’m really glad I did.”

After she had already completed three years in nursing school and retaken some science classes, Blaylock spent three years in the program, which is still relatively small.

“It’s a small cohort of people,” Blaylock said. “I really got to know my professors.”

Blaylock helped form the Undergraduate Immunology Society, which aims to “foster awareness of immunology on campus and build a sense of community among the program’s students,” according to the university.

“I wanted to create a community for students to not only gain academic direction, but also create a fun, warm and friendly environment in which students could form relationships with the people they are going to be with for the next four years,” Blaylock told UAB Media Relations.

Blaylock graduated from Vestavia Hills High School in 2014 and said at that time, she had no clue what she wanted to do.

“I just wanted to play basketball,” she said.

She chose nursing as her major but didn’t really know what she wanted to do in terms of a career. But, as she started to figure that out, she was aided by her Vestavia Hills studies.

“I wasn’t shocked when I got to college,” Blaylock said.

Playing sports also helped her learn to manage her time, she said.

As Blaylock went through her last semester at UAB, the world began to get a crash course in the viruses she had spent years studying as the COVID-19 pandemic hit across the world. Yet, she said her professors made Zoom calls personal and also helped her and her classmates track and understand what was happening with COVID-19.

“The more knowledge you have, the more helpful it is,” Blaylock said. “The lack of knowledge is what brings a lot of fear. ... I don’t know it all by any means, but having a baseline helps.”

Blaylock is now applying to physician assistant schools, hoping to stay in Alabama as she continues her education. She will take a gap year before going back to school, during which she can figure out what specialty she wants to pursue. She will also continue working as an emergency medical technician with Regional Paramedic Services.