Below is a Summary of all Lab Alumni. More details on each alumnus and their contributions are provided further below.
Former Graduate Students
- Kristopher Kieft, Microbiology PhD, 2022. Current Position: Computational Scientist at Moderna Genomics
- Jacob Hotvedt, Bacteriology MS, 2022. Current Position: PhD student in Microbiology at UW-Madison.
- Patricia Tran, Freshwater and Marine Sciences PhD, 2023. Current Position: Bioinformatics Scientist in the Dept of Bacteriology, UW-Madison
- Elise Cowley, MD-PhD Program – Microbiology PhD, 2023. Current Position: Finishing MD-PhD program at UW-Madison
Former Postdocs and Scientists
- Dr. Zhichao Zhou, 2019-2023. Current Position: Associate Professor, Shenzhen University
- Dr. Alyssa Adams, 2020-2022. Current Position: Research Scientist, Cross Labs
Former Research Staff and Technicians
- Adam Breister, 2019-2023. Current Position: PhD student, North Carolina State University
- Samantha Bachand, 2021-2023. Current Position: PhD student, Stanford University
- Faith Koester, 2021-2023. Current Position: MS student, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Kristopher Kieft
Current Position: Computational Scientist at Moderna Genomics
Ph.D, Microbiology Doctoral Training Program (2017-2022)
Research – Kris joined the lab in 2017 and was the first graduate student in the laboratory. During his PhD, Kris explored ecological and biogeochemical services of phages in nature and the human gut. He also led the development of several bioinformatic methods to expand the set of tools available for investigating phages including VIBRANT, vRhyme, and Propagate. Kris graduated in May 2022.
Jacob Hotvedt
Current Position: Microbiology PhD Student at UW-Madison in the Sperandio Lab
M.S. Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2020-2022)
Research – Jacob joined the lab in 2020 and studied the role of organic sulfur compounds in the production of hydrogen sulfide in nature. He developed HPLC based approaches to measure organic sulfur compounds (amino acids such as cysteine) and experimentally demonstrated the microbial degradation of organic sulfur compounds in freshwater bacterial model systems.
Patricia Tran
Current Position: Bioinformatics Scientist in the Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Ph.D, Freshwater and Marine Sciences Program (2018-2023)
Research – Patricia joined the lab in 2018 and studied freshwater microbiology and virology. During her PhD, Patricia explored the metabolism and ecology of microbes in anoxic zones of freshwater lakes, such as seasonally oxygen-depleted bottom waters (hypolimnions) of Lake Mendota (Madison, WI), and the permanently anoxic deep waters of Lake Tanganyika (Tanzania). She also contributed to several bioinformatics projects including METABOLIC and led the study of microbial sulfur metabolism in freshwater lakes.
Elise Cowley
Current Position: Completing her MD-PhD program at University of Wisconsin-Madison
Ph.D, Microbiology Doctoral Training Program (2020-2023)
Research – Elise joined the lab in 2020 and studied human microbiomes and viromes. Her research focused on diverse microbiome-driven disorders such as colorectal cancer, multiple sclerosis, and group B streptococcus. Specifically, her research has identified strong associations at the genomic and genetic resolutions between microbial sulfur metabolism and colorectal cancer.
