People

Program: Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis

Graduation Year: 2009

Thesis Advisor: Tamara L. Doering

Thesis Title: Export and Regulation of the Polysaccharide Capsule in Cryptococcus Neoformans

Program affiliation
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Immunology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Computational and Systems Biology

Research summary
Microbial community-immune interactions in airway diseases and urogenital tract

Key words
microbiota; microbiome; mucosal immunity; asthma; allergy; atopy; urinary tract infection; pathogen colonization; metabolomics;

Program affiliation
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Cancer Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
Understanding and modifying the mechanisms controlling the onset of melanoma cancer by integrating zebrafish models and human disease

Key words
melanoma, cancer initiation, epigenetics, molecular genetics, neural crest, zebrafish, cancer models

Program affiliation
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Neurosciences
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
In the Kautt Lab, we combine a genomics-centered approach with molecular experiments, behavioral assays, and fieldwork to elucidate both the evolutionary and molecular mechanisms underlying organismal adaptation and diversification, with a focus on animal behavior.

Key words
Evolution, Genomics, Behavior, Adaptation, Speciation

Program: Evolution Ecology and Population Biology

Graduation Year: 2007

Thesis Advisor: Alison Goate

Thesis Title: Using cerebrospinal fluid protein levels as quantitative endophenotypes to identify novel genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease

Program: Neurosciences

Graduation Year: 1994

Thesis Advisor: William T. Thach

Thesis Title: An Investigation into the Role of Cerebellar Cortex in the Adaptation of a Targeted Ballistic Movement of the Wrist.

Program: Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Graduation Year: 2017

Thesis Advisor: Heather L. True-Krob

Thesis Title: Factors that contribute to de novo protein misfolding and prion formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Program: Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis

Graduation Year: 2022

Thesis Advisor: Gautam Dantas

Thesis Title: Illuminating microbial pathogenesis and microbiome dysbiosis with comparative genomics

Program: Genetics

Graduation Year: 1996

Thesis Advisor: Robert R. Landick

Thesis Title: Analysis of RNA Polymerase II Behavior at Intrinsic Pause, Arrest and Termination Sites

Program: Immunology

Graduation Year: 1990

Thesis Advisor: Ted H. Hansen

Thesis Title: Transcriptional and Post-translational Regulation of Class I Major Histocompatibility Molecules.