Current and Former members of the Remold Laboratory

Susanna Remold completed a BS in Biology at the University of Michigan and a PhD in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University.  After postdoctoral fellowships in Dr Richard Lenski's lab at Michigan State University, and in Dr Paul Turner's lab at Yale University, Susanna joined the Biology Department faculty at UofL in 2005.  In her research, Susanna Remold addresses basic questions in ecology, evolution and genetics of niche adaptation in microbes that influence human health.

Research Technician

Tom Hundley is involved in one way or another with most of the lab's projects, though his own work focuses on the evolution of VSV. If you can't find him at the bench or in the hood, he's sure to be brewing up one of his mean capuchinos!

Graduate Students

Jeffrey Bara (lower left in photo) began his PhD work in the fall of 2007. He is working on RNA virus evolution, in particular on rates of infection and consequences of infection in larval Aedes mosquitoes.

Megan Purdy is working on her PhD  in Biology. She is investigating the movement of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in human households. Contact Megan if you are interested in volunteering to be sampled for our study!

Lindsey Willet is a PhD student in the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology program. She is interested in disease evolution, in particular the evolution of and oncolytic properties of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV).

Ogochukwu Onyiri began work on her PhD in the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology program in the fall of 2010.  She is studying phenotypic variation in Pseudomonas isolated from human homes.

Undergraduate students

Keith Glenn joined the lab in December 2008.  In addition to coordinating sampling scheduling and other work on the Pseudomonas sampling project, Keith has been working on terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (tRFLP) analysis of bacterial communities in sputum and in soils around the human home.  He will complete his degree in May 2011, and is working on an Honors Thesis on his work with tRFLP.

Charles Riley joined the lab in the spring of 2010.  He has been participating in the ongoing sampling for Pseudomonas from the human home.  He will graduate with a degee in Biology in May 2011.

Mark Eid  has been working with Jeff Bara on the dynamics of dengue infection in larval mosquitoes since the fall of 2010, performing maintenance of insect colonies, cell culture and quantification of virus using quantitative real-time RT-PCR.

Michael France began work in the Remold lab in the spring of 2010.  He is working on molecular identification of Pseudomonas from human homes, and on characterization of phenotypic diversity among household Pseudomonas.  In the summer of 2011 he will be supported by Research Experience for Undergraduates funding from the National Science Foundation.

Lab Alumnae

Aakriti Mehta worked in the lab from 2009 – 2010, participating in sampling and molecular identification of household Pseudomonas.  She completed her degree in Biology and her Honors Thesis on her work in the lab in May 2010.

Kevin Maginnis began working on the Pseudomonas sampling project, participating in sampling and molecular identification in 2009.  He graduate with his degree in Biology in May 2010. 

Jeffrey Hellmann completed his undergraduate degree in Biology in May 2009. He worked with Lindsey Willett, investigating the growth characteristics of VSV in a variety of cancer cell lines. 

Brandon Walker worked on the Pseudomonas sampling project in 2009, assisting in sampling in homes.

Bryan Wessel  also worked on the Pseudomonas sampling project in 2009 participating in sampling and sample processing.

Tara Kollenberg is working toward her undergraduate degree in Biology. She intends to attend U of L medical school and work with kids someday. She is working on the Pseudomonas project, looking at the diversity of bacteria living within the human home environment.

Justin Wells completed his Masters degree in December 2008. He is now working at Vanderbilt University in the laboratory of Dr. Christopher Wright, focusing on early development and organogenesis.

Amber Carrier completed her Masters degree in December 2008, and is now pursuing her PhD in the Department of Biology at University of Louisville, in the research group of Dr. Paul Ewald, where she continues her work on in the  field of disease evolution, with the goal of applying principles of evolution to the study and practice of medicine.

Justin Farris worked in the field and in the laboratory on the Pseudomonas project. Since completing his undergraduate degree in Biology in May 2008 he has begun Veterinary School at Auburn University.

Chris Brown completed his undergraduate degree in Biology and Spanish in May 2008, and is working on his Master's degree in Epidemiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. After that, he plans to continue on to a Ph.D. program in Microbial Disease Epidemiology and Biopreparedness. He misses sampling very much.

Jessica Perpich completed her Masters degreee in the Department of Biology in August 2007, and is attending Veterinary School at Michigan State University.

Bernard Tawfik worked on PCR-based assay for assessing relative titers of viruses from co-cultures. He began medical school at Wake Forest University in fall 2007.

Kelsey Hughes worked on the effects of previous host adaptation to the ability of VSV to shift onto a new host.