Category: Uncategorized

Postdoc  

I earned my PhD in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois, where I studied how diet and the gut microbiome can influence cognition through the gut-brain axis. My earlier work, during my BS (Biology and Chemistry; minor in Physics) and MS (Food Science and Human Nutrition), ranged from studying antibiotic-resistant pathogens and investigating synergistic treatments to overcome resistance to optimizing a probiotic using the food matrix for improved survivability. As I transition into postdoctoral training in Pathobiology, I am interested in developing expertise in animal models and cell culture systems to explore mechanistic and causal interactions between microbial ecology and host health. 

Postdoc

I am a bioinformatics researcher with research interests in microbial genome assembly, annotation, and genome evolution. My work focuses on applying computational and genomic approaches to study genome organization and comparative genomics, examining how genomes adapt to changing environment and how evolutionary processes shape cellular function. 

Integrated Biology Undergraduate (2025 – ) 

Integrated Biology Undergraduate (2025 – ) 

 I am interested in learning how the microbiome mediates the health of the host organism. 

Integrated Biology Undergraduate (2024 – ) 

Ella is currently a senior in Integrative Biology Honors and Global Studies. She joined the lab in the summer of 2024 and is broadly interested in how the microbiome plays a role in modulating human health, with hopes of taking what she learns into a career in environmental or public health policy.

Pathobiology Graduate Student (2022 – )  

My research focuses on understanding host-microbiota interactions, with the aim of harnessing the capacity of gut microbiota to mediate insecticide exposure impacts on our health.  

Pathobiology Graduate Student (2022 – )  

Luoyan is interested in how commonly used fungicide exposure influences the gut microbial community and function by using the zebrafish and mice model and how dietary components like dietary fiber influence the outcomes of fungicide exposure. 

Pathobiology Graduate Student (2021 – )  

I’m interested in how herbicides shape gut microbial communities and how the microbiome, in turn, influences herbicide toxicity and host detoxification processes.