I am a microbial ecologist who loves to interrogate how microbes that reside in subsurface environments – absent from sunlight – make a living and, in turn, impact global biogeochemical cycles. I am currently Research Associate at Michigan State University working with Dr. Annette Rowe (electromicrobiology.org) to investigate the mechanisms by which some marine sediment bacteria obtain energy in the form of electrons from mineral surfaces located outside the cell.
Undergraduate Students
Justin Mackey – UC UPRISE Scholar – University of Cincinnati – Construction of gene deletion and complementation mutants in marine cathode-oxidizing bacteria.
Former Undergraduate Students
Kennedy Whiters – NSF REU Scholar – Albany State University – Genetic engineering of methanogens for electrosynthesis.
Jackson Quinn – University of Cincinnati – Optimizing electroporation efficiency in cathode-oxidizing Thioclava electrotropha ElOx9T.
Jacob Shirey – University of Cincinnati – Biochemical characterization of a cathode-oxidizing chemolithotrophic Halomonas species.
Waleed Amir – University of Cincinnati – Genomics of two electrochemically active strains of Idiomarina.
Casey Norman – University of Cincinnati – Genomics of two electrochemically active strains of Idiomarina.
Anna Cunnane – University of Cincinnati – Construction, expression, and localization of CFP fusion proteins in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1.
Vageesha Herath – University of Cincinnati – Generation of gene deletion mutants in the electrochemically active bacterium, Thioclava electrotropha ElOx9T.
Brittany Esqueda – Nevada State College – Evaluation of microbial communities comprising the phyllosphere of native Mojave plants.
Penelope Borg – University of Nevada, Las Vegas – Microbial community analysis of playa lake sediments from Edwards Air Force Base, CA.
Nicole Thomas – University of Nevada, Las Vegas – (1) Cultivation of autotrophic sulfate-reducing microorganisms from deep subsurface environments, and (2) Microbial degradation of diesel-range organic compounds.
Rudolph Dagher – University of Nevada, Las Vegas – Cultivation of oligotrophic microorganisms from desert springs and wells.
Desiree C. Huerta – University of Nevada, Las Vegas – Cultivation of oligotrophic microorganisms from desert springs.
Lidia Hristova – University of Nevada, Las Vegas – Mitochondrial sequence reconstruction from archaeological artifacts from Nevada.
Anna Nguyen – University of Colorado Denver – Physiological characterization of the stress response of Pseudomonas sp. S8A to cadmium exposure.
Former High School Students
Kaylaa Betts – Walnut Hills High School – Creation of gene-deletion mutants in Thioclava electrotropha ElOx9T.
The Sackett Lab 