Current Lab Members
Principal Investigator
Jo Handelsman
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor
Vilas Research Professor
Director, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery
Postdoctoral Researchers
Delaney Miller
Postdoc
In general, I am fascinated by how small-scale interactions, such as those between microbes, can have large impacts on host health and ecosystem function. Currently I am focused on how the model rhizosphere community, THOR, interacts with symbiotic rhizobia and influences their association with legumes. To address my research questions I use a variety of techniques, including genomics, transcriptomics, genetics and in vitro experiments.
Margaret Thairu
Postdoc
I am interested in understanding how the formation and maintenance of symbiotic relationships shape and influence the evolution lineages. I focus on microbial symbioses, and by using both genomic and experimental techniques to I hope to understand factors that drive and shape these relationships.
Graduate Students
Austin Hall
Graduate Student
My research involves finding microorganisms that can invade established biofilms. After finding invaders, I look at how the polymicrobial community responds to invasion, and at the genetics related to invasion. Understanding these mechanisms can shed light on what makes a microbiome resistant to change.
Shruthi Magesh
Graduate Student
I aim to identify the genetic determinants important for F. johnsoniae to survive in the rhizosphere. Two important behaviors of a bacterium to succeed in the rhizosphere are 1) colonizing on a surface, such as soil particles or the root, and 2) interacting with nearby bacteria. To study these traits, I employ a high-throughput genetic screen using a mariner transposon mutant library of F. johnsoniae to identify the fitness of genes using INSeq technology.
Research Staff
Josephine Putnam
Research Intern
I research microbial communities through several different lenses. With respect to human health, I study the connection between the gut microbiome and depression. I also work with the Tiny Earth Chemistry Hub to discover novel antibiotics from soil bacteria. The agricultural side of my research focuses on looking for biocontrol agents that protect soybean plants from the oomycete pathogen Pythium.
Martel DenHartog
Tiny Earth Chemistry Hub Manager
My research primarily focuses on advancing isolates in the Tiny Earth Chemistry Hub. To do this, I prepare genomic and metabolomic isolations from bacterial strains shown to produce inhibition against ESKAPE relatives. My role with the Chemistry Hub extends beyond WID to the Tiny Earth network, where I communicate with TE Partner Instructors about the research happening in our lab. I also work with every lab member to make sure their supply and equipment needs are met and help maintain organization in the lab. Outside of lab and administrative work, I enjoy writing feature science stories for the WID and Tiny Earth websites.
Undergraduate Students
Tasha Miller
Undergraduate
is a junior undergraduate student studying Plant Pathology and Environmental Soil Science. She has a passion for research and hopes to learn more about interactions between plants and soil microbes. When not on campus, she's spending time with her kids or enjoying her chickens.
Visiting Scholars
Administrative Staff
Sarah Miller
Executive Director of Tiny Earth
As the Executive Director of Tiny Earth at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Sarah oversees Tiny Earth's international network of over 700 instructors that teach more than 14,000 students per year.
