Our Students

Carter Abbott

Carter Abbott

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Cox Lab, 2024

I am studying the gut-brain axis and neurodegenerative diseases.

Sidney Abelson

Sydney Abelson

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Devlin Lab, 2025

I am investigating gut microbiome metabolomics.

Jose Aceves-Salvador

Jose Aceves-Salvador

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Moffitt Lab, 2021

Sam Alemu

Sam Alemu

Biological Sciences in Public Health

Duraisingh Lab, 2022

Justin Bae

Justin Bae

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Helaine and Moffitt Labs, 2021

I study the regrowth of Salmonella persisters with spatial transcriptomics.

Taran Bauer

Taran Bauer

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Bernhardt Lab, 2024

I study the essential mechanism of the envelope stress response in Escherichia coli and other gram-negative pathogens.

Bailey Bowcutt

Bailey Bowcutt

Biological Sciences in Public Health

Grad Lab, 2023

I study evolution of antibiotic resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Justin Brueggeman

Justin Brueggeman

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Starnbach Lab, 2022

I study T cell responses to B. burgdorferi and B. microti, two tick-borne diseases.

Dylan Burgin

Dylan Burgin

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Bernhardt Lab, 2023

I study membrane biogenesis in Gram-negative bacteria.

Meredith Chambers

Meredith Chambers

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Cox Lab, 2024

I study the role of the microbiome in multiple sclerosis.

Rita Chan

Rita Chan

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Rakoff-Nahoum Lab, 2019

I study microbiology and microbial ecology in the female reproductive tract.

Terry Cho

Terry Cho

Biomedical Informatics

Kostic Lab, 2024

My research focuses on computational approaches to unravel host–microbe co-evolution and interaction, with a parallel emphasis on developing scalable methods for large-scale microbiome data analysis.

Katherine Dailey

Katherine Dailey

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Helaine Lab, 2024

I study genes encoded on prophages in Klebsiella pneuomoniae.

Natalie Desilets

Natalie Desilets

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Helaine Lab, 2025

I am investigating prophage-encoded genes in Salmonella.

Zoe Feder

Zoe Feder

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Hochschild Lab, 2019

I study protein-based inheritance in bacteria.

Abigail Frey

Abigail Frey

Biological Sciences in Public Health

Fortune Lab, 2021

I am utilizing the evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis for a new understanding of its virulence mechanisms.

Skylar Gay

Skylar Gay

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Kostic and Springer Labs, 2025

I study gut microbiome lactic acid fixation in the context of endurance and high performance athletes from a systems biology viewpoint.

Virginia Glick

Virginia Glick

Chemical Biology

Gopinath Lab, 2021

Mudita Goyal

Mudita Goyal

Chemical Biology

Balskus Lab, 2024

Colibactin induced changes in the gut microbiome.

Emil Haedt

Emil Haedt

Chemical Biology

Balskus Lab, 2025

I study gut microbial polyphenol metabolism.

Victoria Hayes

Victoria Hayes

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Dvorin Lab, 2025

I study the biology of proteins involved in the Plasmodium falciparum lifecycle.

Gabrielle Hernandez

Gabrielle Hernandez

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Dvorin Lab, 2024

Uncovering the cell biology of Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest parasite species.

Dominick Jenkins

Dominick Jenkins

Chemical Biology

Balskus Lab, 2021

Yehoon Jo

Yehoon Jo

Biological Sciences in Public Health

Huttenhower Lab, 2025

I study the gut microbiome using statistical methods to understand its role in health and disease.

Aditi Kannan

Aditi Kannan

Chemical Biology

Balskus Lab, 2024

I study vaginal microbial community dynamics..

Johnathan Kepple

Johnathan Kepple

Biological Sciences in Public Health

Bernhardt Lab, 2020

I study outer membrane homeostasis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Andie Kim

Andie Kim

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Jost Lab, 2022

Communication between the host and its microbiome through small molecule-receptor signaling networks.

Cecilia Kim

Cecilia Kim

Biological Sciences in Public Health

Devlin Lab, 2023

Examining the sulfonation of small molecules by gut bacteria and the impact of these modified metabolites on disease.

Claire Kitzmiller

Claire Kitzmiller

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Fortune Lab, 2025

I study the evolution of the ESX1 secretion system in Mycobacterium Tuberculosis.

Hyunho Lee

Hyunho Lee

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Jost Lab, 2021

Examining combinatorial effects of gut microbiome metabolites.

Kijeong Lee

Kijeong Lee

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Goldberg Lab, 2024

I study host-mediated killing strategies of intracellular pathogens.

Ophelia Lee

Ophelia Lee

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Bernhardt Lab, 2024

Investigating the regulation of cell envelope synthesis and coordination in Actinomycetes.

Jeremy Liang

Jeremy Liang

Chemical Biology

Balskus Lab, 2023

Franziska Maria Lichtenauer

Franziska Maria Lichtenauer

Chemical Biology

Bernhardt Lab, 2025

I study cell wall biogenesis in Corynebacterium glutamicum.

Isabella Lin

Isabella Lin

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Rudner Lab, 2025

I study cell wall homeostasis of Gram-positive bacteria.

Claudia Liu

Claudia Liu

Chemical Biology

Balskus Lab, 2021

Cheyenne Loo

Cheyenne Loo

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Jost Lab, 2024

I study host-microbe signalling mechanisms in the mammalian gut.

Isaiah Lopez

Isaiah Lopez

Chemical Biology

Balskus Lab, 2023

I plan to investigate the enzymology and chemistry catalyzed by microbes in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and other specialized molecules, especially those relevant to human health.

Bri Manning

Bri Manning

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Higgins Lab, 2021

I am interested in the regulatory response of bacterial virulence factors during intracellular infection.

Pray Miao

Pray Miao

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Devlin Lab, 2025

I study how bacterial metabolites influence host physiology.

Cait Moffatt

Cait Moffatt

Molecules, Cells, and Organisms

Kahne Lab, 2020

I am interested in how Gram negative bacteria transport LPS to the cell surface.

Sarah Mooney

Sarah Mooney

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Jost Lab, 2024

I am interested in mechanisms underlying host-microbe interactions in the gut microbiome.

Benjamin Morris

Benjamin Morris

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Helaine Lab, 2023

I study the interactions between Salmonella and host immune cells during infection and antibiotic treatment.

Eric Neubauer Vickers

Biological Sciences in Public Health

Grad Lab, 2023

I am interested in population level immunity to Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Michele Muscolo

Michele Muscolo

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Dove Lab, 2025

I study post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Tien Nguyen

Tien Nguyen

Molecules, Cells, and Organisms

Bernhardt Lab, 2022

Joshua Park

Joshua Park

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

2023

Elizabeth Perez

Elizabeth Perez

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Higgins Lab, 2019

Host factors contribute to the rise and fall of Listeria monocytogenes during intracellular infection. I am determining what roles these host factors may play in host defense or L. monocytogenes virulence.

Bailey Plaman

Bailey Plaman

Chemical Biology

Kahne Lab, 2020

I am interested in the mechanism of how LPS transport is coupled to ATP hydrolysis in the lipopolysaccharide transporter.

Adelyn Ragucci

Adelyn Ragucci

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Kranzusch Lab, 2022

I use biochemistry and structural biology to understand how phages evade bacterial immune systems.

Ari  Sarfatis

Ari Sarfatis

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Moffitt Lab, 2019

I develop techologies to enable massively multiplexed transcriptome profiling in bacteria.

Julia Silberman

Julia Silberman

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Bernhardt Lab, 2025

I study the capsule layer of Gram-negative bacteria. 

Sally Song

Sally Song

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

van Opijnen Lab, 2025

I study intracellular recalcitrant states across pathogenic bacterial species.

Hailee Sorensen

Hailee Sorensen

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Helaine Lab, 2021

My work focuses on Salmonella persister cells and how they may be involved in recurrent infections.

Kathy Suarez

Kathy Suarez

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Bernhardt Lab, 2019

Audrey Sweten

Audrey Sweten

Molecules Cells Organisms

Watnick Lab, 2025

I study how chitin influences Vibrio cholerae colonization within the peritrophic matrix of arthropod hosts.

Kade Townsend

Kade Townsend

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Dove Lab, 2023

I will be researching post-transcriptional regulators in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Melissa Tran

Melissa Tran

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Devlin and Huh Labs, 2020

Brooke Travis

Brooke Travis

Organismic and Evolutionary Biology

Girguis Lab, 2021

Assessing host physiology in response to the presence of symbiotic relationships in deep sea animals.

Nana Twumasi-Ankrah

Nana Twumasi-Ankrah

Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics

Moffitt Lab, 2021

I use a highly multiplexed microscopy imaging technique called MERFISH to study the spatial organization and gene expression of bacteria within their native contexts.

Kevin Zhang

Kevin Zhang

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Dove Lab, 2024

Post-transcriptional regulation by sRNAs in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.