Congrats to Erin Conley, PhD!
Erin successfully defended her dissertation “Defining parameters of substrate selection in nonribosomal peptide synthetases”.
Congrats to MDTP faculty Anne Pringle and Katie Henzler-Wildman, AAAS fellows!
Anne Pringle (Bacteriology/Botany) and Katie Henzler-Wildman (Biochemistry) are among the seven newest AAAS fellows at UW-Madison – congrats!
Congrats to Shruthi Magesh, PhD!
Shruthi successfully defended her dissertation “Molecular determinants of Flavobacterium johnsoniae behavior in the THOR microbial community”.
Congrats to Rauf Salamzade, PhD!
Rauf successfully defended his dissertation “Understanding recent and ancestral trends in theevolution of microbial biosynthetic gene clusters”.
Congrats to Andrew Sommer, PhD!
Andrew successfully defended his dissertation “Flies as carriers of clinically relevant bacteria in agricultural reservoirs”.
Congrats to MDTP faculty Mark Mandel and Vatsan Raman!
Mark Mandel and Vatsan Raman have been named 2025 Vilas Awardees – congratulations!
Long-term bacteria evolution in Lake Mendota
UW-Madison researchers, including MDTP director Trina McMahon, describe long-term evolution of bacteria in Lake Mendota.
Congrats to Soleil Young, PhD!
Soleil successfully defended her dissertation “Sex in theory and practice: Genetics and reproduction in the fungus-growing ant symbiosis”.
Congrats to Madeline Hayes, PhD!
Madeline successfully defended her dissertation “Synthetic biology approaches for exploring medium chain fatty acid production in anaerobic bacterial communities”.
Congrats to Timothy Wakiyama, PhD!
Timothy successfully defended his dissertation “Multiplexing regulation of gene expression in budding yeast with synthetic biology”.
MDTP trainer Kerri Coon a 2025 Distinguished Teaching Award recipient!
Dr. Kerri Coon, Bacteriology, honored as one of UW’s finest educators!
MDTP trainer Betül Kaçar receives Keck Foundation grant!
Betül Kaçar will be leading a group, including MDTP trainers Jean-Michel Ané and Brian Pfleger, investigating the origins and evolution of nitrogenase with generous support from the Keck Foundation. Congrats!
Congrats to Justin Eagan, PhD!
Justin successfully defended his dissertation “Exploring the Impact of Abiotic and Biotic Stresses on Microbial Community Dynamics and Cryptic Secondary Metabolite Gene Cluster Activation”.
Congrats to Thy Nguyen, PhD!
Thy successfully defended her dissertation “The Role of Commensal Bacteria in Fungal Defense: Understanding Antifungal Mechanisms of the Human Skin Microbiome”.
Congrats to Joe Skarlupka, PhD!
Joe successfully defended his dissertation “Using oral swabs in dairy cows to correlate the rumen microbiome with production metrics and improve genetic selection”.
Congrats to Ibrahim Zuniga Chaves, PhD!
Ibrahim successfully defended his dissertation “Understanding the impact of SES on the human gut microbiome in a Wisconsin cohort”.
Congrats to MDTP trainer Vatsan Raman!
Congratulations to Professor Vatsan Raman, who has been named as the first S.C. Fang Professor.
Congrats to alumna Ruth Isenberg, recipient of the 2024 Nat L. Sternberg Thesis Prize!
Ruth Y. Isenberg, PhD ’23, has been awarded the 2024 Nat L. Sternberg Thesis Prize. The international prize is awarded annually “for outstanding PhD work in the field of bacterial molecular biology.” In the prize’s …
Congrats to Brian Snow, PhD!
Brian successfully defended his dissertation “Investigated the Role of Antibody-Dependent Cellular Phagocytosis (ADCP) in Protection Against HIV-1”.
Congrats to Chutikarn Chitboonthavisuk, PhD!
Chutikarn successfully defended her dissertation “Systematic genome-wide discovery of host factors governing bacteriophage infectivity”.
Congrats to recent alumna Jennifer Tran!
Jennifer was just awarded the Wisconsin Initiative for Science Literacy Award for Communicating PhD Research to the Public! Congratulations!
Congrats to Cheta Siletti, PhD!
Cheta successfully defended her dissertation “The Role of c-di-AMP in Listeria monocytogenes pathogenesis”.
Congrats to Jennifer Tran, PhD!
Jennifer successfully defended her dissertation “Functional characterization of essential genes in Acinetobacter baumannii”.
Congrats to Julio Rivera Vazquez, PhD!
Julio successfully defended his dissertation “Physiological Responses and Genetic Adaptations to Solvent Stressors in Zymomonas mobilis“.
Congrats to Emily Bacon, PhD!
Emily successfully defended her dissertation “Gene regulation and signal transduction in γ-proteobacteria”.
Congrats to James Finn, PhD!
James successfully defended his dissertation “Regulation of a Type VII secretion operon in Bacillus subtilis: The yfj operon”.
Congrats to MDTP student Natalia Rosario-Melendez!
Natalia received a prestigious NIFA-USDA fellowship! Congrats!
Congrats to Kim Gutierrez, PhD!
Kim successfully defended her dissertation “Listeria monocytogenes adaptations to cell wall stress in the macrophage cytosol”.
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