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Jessica Bailey
CMMB Graduate Student, GoT Aficionado, BS U. Montana Jessie is interested in the cell basis of Wolbachia transmission and mechanisms of Wolbachia spread within host populations. Her dissertation work will assess host-Wolbachia interactions in several systems with emphasis on variation in the efficiency of Wolbachia maternal transmission. Papers: Wang et al. 2016, Gupta et al. 2016 |
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Will Conner
Bioinformatics Research Assistant, Cat wrangler, BS UC Davis Will evaluates modes of Wolbachia acquisition and patterns of genomic variation in many Wolbachia-infected host species. More generally, Will is involved in almost all of the computational work in the lab, and his expertise is crucial to the progress we are making in several systems. Papers: too many to keep up with anymore. |
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Brandon S. Cooper
Assistant Professor, PhD Indiana University-Bloomington brandon . cooper AT umontana . edu I am an Assistant Professor of Cell, Molecular, and Microbial Biology at the University of Montana in Missoula. Before that I was an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow with Michael Turelli at UC Davis. I am interested in understanding the acquisition, spread, and maintenance of Wolbachia infections in insects. Several projects also evaluate local adaptation within, and reproductive isolation between, Wolbachia-infected Drosophila hosts. Google Scholar |
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Michael T.J. Hague
Postdoctoral Fellow, PhD U. Virginia Website Mike joined our group after completing his dissertation research in Butch Brodie's lab at UVA. In the Brodie lab, Mike evaluated patterns of adaptation in the coevolutionary arms race between garter snakes and toxic Pacific newts. Mike is now assessing the contributions of host and Wolbachia genomes to traits that influence the spread of Wolbachia infections in several systems. |
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Madilyn Head
Lab Technician, BS U. Montana Madilyn joined our group after completing undergraduate research in the Cheviron lab. There she worked on on RNA extraction and quantification with Jonathan Velotta. In our lab, Madilyn is working on several projects including analysis of Wolbachia-titer variation in the D. montium subgroup. |
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Isaac Humble
Undergraduate Researcher Isaac is currently a senior and joined our group in the spring of 2018 after taking a course with John Maron on undergraduate research opportunities at UM. Isaac has broad interest in crazy microbes that live on and inside hosts, and in our lab he is evaluating Wolbachia effects on host temperature preference and physiology. Isaac plans to apply to graduate school in the fall of 2019. In his "spare" time Isaac operates a successful business that does beautiful wood and metal work for various clients in the Missoula area. |
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Megan Meany
Lab Manager, BS UC Davis Megan joined the lab in the fall of 2017 after working as a research technician in Artyom Kopp's lab at UC Davis. In the Kopp lab Megan worked on the evolution of cockroach development with Judy Wexler. In our lab, Megan is working on transinfecting Drosophila hosts with Wolbachia to generate material for several experiments. Megan is also leading a project assessing Wolbachia effects on the physiology and fitness of D. mauritiana hosts. Megan plans to start graduate school in the fall of 2019—lucky the lab that gets her. |
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Sophia Richter
Junior, Hellgate High School Sophia joined us in the fall of 2017 as a high-school student to learn more about scientific research. She is already working on multiple projects in the lab related to Wolbachia effects on host physiology and fitness. In the spring of 2018 Sophia won multiple awards for her work on wMau effects on D. mauritiana fitness. Woot!! |
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Tim Wheeler
Senior Researcher, BS & MS U. Montana Tim recently finished an MS in John McCutcheon's lab working on the taxonomy of lichens. Tim is an amazing naturalist and brings a lot of knowledge to the lab with emphasis on fungi in and around western Montana. Tim is also a fantastic photographer. See more here. |
Honorary members
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Francis JH (and Janet)
F1 Research interests: reading, puzzles, trains, but mostly Janet Training: We are working on it. |
Gone, but not forgotten...
Lindsay Axelrod, Undergraduate, UC Davis, Currently in industry
Jennifer Blanc, Undergraduate, UC Davis, Currently PhD student at U Chicago
Peter Burkard, Undergraduate, UC Davis, Currently in medical school
Nick Fisher, Undergraduate, Indiana University, Currently in medical school
Paul Ginsberg, Research Technician, UC Davis, Currently a PhD student at U Georgia
John Kaiser, Graduate Researcher, U Montana, currently in industry
Andy Katznelson, Undergraduate, UC Davis, Currently a graduate student at U Cambridge
Kevin Kim, Undergraduate, UC Davis, Currently a research technician with Michael Turelli
Maria Kirby, Laboratory Technician, U. Montana, Currently applying to Pharmacy school
Catherine Mayo, Undergraduate, UC Davis, Currently in industry
Dawit Mengistu, Laboratory Technician, U. Montana, Currently a researcher in the Secor lab at UM
Huong Nguyen, Undergraduate, UC Davis, Currently an MS student at UC Berkeley
Jasmine Osei-Enin, Undergraduate, McNair Scholar, UC Davis
Brooke Peckenpaugh, Research Technician, UC Davis, Currently a PhD student at Indiana U
Federica Sartori, Undergraduate, UC Davis, Currently a PhD student at NYU
Signe White, Research Technician, Indiana University, Currently a PhD student at Emory U
Luna dog. RIP.
Jennifer Blanc, Undergraduate, UC Davis, Currently PhD student at U Chicago
Peter Burkard, Undergraduate, UC Davis, Currently in medical school
Nick Fisher, Undergraduate, Indiana University, Currently in medical school
Paul Ginsberg, Research Technician, UC Davis, Currently a PhD student at U Georgia
John Kaiser, Graduate Researcher, U Montana, currently in industry
Andy Katznelson, Undergraduate, UC Davis, Currently a graduate student at U Cambridge
Kevin Kim, Undergraduate, UC Davis, Currently a research technician with Michael Turelli
Maria Kirby, Laboratory Technician, U. Montana, Currently applying to Pharmacy school
Catherine Mayo, Undergraduate, UC Davis, Currently in industry
Dawit Mengistu, Laboratory Technician, U. Montana, Currently a researcher in the Secor lab at UM
Huong Nguyen, Undergraduate, UC Davis, Currently an MS student at UC Berkeley
Jasmine Osei-Enin, Undergraduate, McNair Scholar, UC Davis
Brooke Peckenpaugh, Research Technician, UC Davis, Currently a PhD student at Indiana U
Federica Sartori, Undergraduate, UC Davis, Currently a PhD student at NYU
Signe White, Research Technician, Indiana University, Currently a PhD student at Emory U
Luna dog. RIP.
You?
We value diverse ideas and experiences and would love for you to join our collaborative environment. Please contact me directly for information about current openings.
Brandon S. Cooper
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. HS 104
Missoula, MT 59812
brandon.cooper AT mso.umt.edu
We value diverse ideas and experiences and would love for you to join our collaborative environment. Please contact me directly for information about current openings.
Brandon S. Cooper
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. HS 104
Missoula, MT 59812
brandon.cooper AT mso.umt.edu