The gang

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 assesses host-Wolbachia interactions in several systems with emphasis on connecting variation in Wolbachia cell phenotypes to variation in equilibrium infection frequencies within host populations.

Papers: Wang et al. 2016, Gupta et al. 2016, and Meany et al. 2019

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.

Chelsey Caldwell
Undergraduate Researcher

Chelsey joined our group after working with Doug Emlen on CHC variation in beetles. In our lab, Chelsey is working with Mike Hague on many projects seeking to identify and understand Wolbachia effects on hosts.

Brandon S. Cooper
Assistant Professor, PhD Indiana University-Bloomington
brandon . cooper AT umontana . edu 

​I'm a population biologist and an Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Montana. Before that I was a postdoc at Davis with Michael Turelli. Most of my work focuses on explaining the spread and maintenance of Wolbachia infections in insects. I also enjoy thinking about hybridization, introgression, and other evolutionary-genetic problems. 

Google Scholar

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.

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.

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. In his "spare" time Isaac operates a successful business that does beautiful wood and metal work for various clients in the Missoula area. 

Paighton Noel
Lab Technician, BS U Montana

​Paighton joined the lab in the summer of 2019 after completing her BS in Human Biology. Paighton is interested in gaining research experience while she takes a year off before starting medical school.

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. She is off to Princeton in the fall. Woot!!

​Papers: Meany et al. 2019

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

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
​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
Megan Meany, Laboratory Manager, U. Montana, currently a PhD student at U Georgia
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, currently a researcher in Grace Lee's lab
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