People

Principal Investigator

Carey Nadell

B.A. Biological Sciences, (Hons) 1st Class – University of Oxford
M.A., Ph.D. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology – Princeton University

Carey.D.Nadell@dartmouth.edu

Google Scholar Publications List

I have a mixed training background in behavioral ecology, theoretical ecology, evolutionary biology, molecular microbiology, and light microscopy. My group combines concepts and techniques from all of these disciplines to understand how individual bacterial physiology and behavior contribute to the population and community dynamics of microbial biofilm collectives.

Post-doctoral Fellows

Emilia Simmons

B.S., M.S. – Physics, University of Delaware

Ph.D. – University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Emilia.Simmons@dartmouth.edu

With streamlined laboratory models, stringent controls over all environmental conditions have allowed scientists to examine and learn much about the world around us, but the natural world is typically far more complex than environments examined experimentally in the lab. I’m broadly interested in loosening the constraints on model systems. Currently, I use realistic spatial conditions to study interactions between bacteriophages and bacterial biofilm structure  and community dynamics. My future interests include examining systems with higher numbers of species with methods analogous to statistical mechanics in physics.

Ph.D. Students

Sofia Garcia

B.S. Biology, University of Miami

My previous research was centered on the genomics of temperate phages and bacteria in coral associated microbiomes. Currently, my focus is exploring the ecological interactions of temperate phages within a biofilm context.

Jacob Holt

B.S. Biology, Georgia Tech

Jacob.D.Holt.GR@dartmouth.edu

I am broadly interested in how collectives of cells respond and adapt to their environment and what role physics plays in this process. My past research experience focused on exploring how physical forces shape the evolutionary trajectory of clonal yeast aggregates. In the Nadell Lab, I work on poly-microbial biofilms and predator-prey interactions in the context of these biofilms, combining modeling and simulation with microscopy.

Jack Peng

B.A. Biology with Highest Honors; B.A. Economics – Emory University

yixuan.peng.gr@dartmouth.edu

I am interested in the ecological relationships and microbial interactions among various microorganisms, including bacteria and viruses. My previous work has centered around studying the population and evolutionary dynamics of temperate and lytic phages in bacteria. Currently, I am focused on exploring horizontal gene transfer within a biofilm setting as a more realistic experimental environment.

Ma. Francesca M. Santiago

MBiol (Hons) 1st Class – University of Oxford

Ma.Francesca.M.Santiago.Gr@dartmouth.edu

I am broadly interested in the ecology and evolution of host-associated microbes. My previous research has looked at the temporal dynamics of the gut microbiome in wild wood mice, as well as the interactions between pathogens and their vectors. In the Nadell Lab, I am interested in exploring the behavior of polymicrobial biofilms in the context of the mammalian gut.

James Winans

B.S. Plant and Microbe Biology, with Distinction in Research – Cornell University

James.B.Winans.GR@dartmouth.edu

My previous research focused on the production of secondary metabolites and disease progression in different model hosts by Fusarium graminearum and Aspergillus spp. Now, I’m interested in investigating how temperate phage propagate through a multispecies community, and how susceptible bacteria are able to escape phage predation in a biofilm setting.

Lab Alumni

Matt Bond

Olivia Hunter

Swetha Kasetty

Katie Miller

Ben Wucher