Whitney Qualls is the daughter of Jerry and Sara Jo Qualls. In 1999, she graduated from McMinn Central High School in Englewood, Tennessee as class salutatorian. Qualls began swimming competitively at the age of three and never stopped.
Recruited on an athletic scholarship at University of the Cumberlands, she competed on the varsity swim team during a record-setting four year collegiate career, serving as Captain in 2001-2002. She earned the NAIA National qualifier in all individual events each year and was named an NAIA National Swimming All-American in six events (200, 400, 500, 1500 and 1650 freestyle and 400 IM).
Qualls took two, top three individual finishes at the NAIA championships in 2001 and one top three individual finish in 2003. Upon graduation in 2003, she held team records in two individual events and four team relays. She remains second all-time at Cumberlands in the 200 freestyle, sixth in the 500 freestyle, seventh in the 1650 freestyle and fifth in the 400 IM.
In 2003, Qualls earned the Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry at Cumberlands. She furthered her education receiving a Masters of Arts in Medical Entomology at Auburn University, Alabama, and a Doctorate in Medical Entomology at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Currently, Dr. Qualls is a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She has a research program focusing on linking operational control of medically important vectors to promote and protect global public health. Her work primarily focuses on controlling mosquito vectors that transmit malaria and dengue virus in the Caribbean and South America.
