Amy Proal graduated from Georgetown University in 2005 with a degree in biology. While at Georgetown she wrote her senior thesis on the role of infectious agents in the disease ME/CFS. In 2012, she obtained a PhD in microbiology from Murdoch University in Australia. Her graduate thesis focused on “Autoimmune disease re-examined in light of metagenomic concepts.” As a member of the research team at Autoimmunity Research Foundation, she has authored papers that examine the role of the human microbiome and human virome in chronic inflammatory disease. Proal has also written book chapters for organizations like the J.Craig Venter Institute and lectured at the NIH and numerous USA/international conferences.