We are pleased to announce that two members of the Yale Microbial Sciences Institute will soon receive a Ph.D. in Microbiology, a track within the Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences.
Both Anna Zagieboylo and Andrew Verdegaal conducted their research in the Goodman Lab, examining the mechanisms that commensal microbes use to compete and cooperate in the gut.
On March 25, Ms. Zagieboylo defended her thesis, which focused on phenotypic heterogeneity caused by the activity of two secreted proteins in gut commensal bacteria. Her investigation revealed a mechanism of intraspecies competition in complex intestinal environments. In Fall, 2024, Dr. Zagieboylo will begin working as a technology specialist at an intellectual property law firm, with further plans to attend law school and work as a patent attorney.
Mr. Verdegaal presented his thesis April 5, sharing research on the impact of medical drugs on gut microbiome dynamics also published in a recent review in Science Translational Medicine. His investigations focused on how a class of Parkinson’s disease drugs alters gut microbiome communities as well as the downstream metabolism of other drugs. Dr. Verdegaal will now serve as a postdoctoral associate in the Goodman Lab, with long-term plans to conduct governmental or agricultural research on xenobiotic-microbiome interactions.
In addition, two first-year Ph.D. students have joined the lab of Hualiang Pi, which employs a multidisciplinary approach to explore stress defense mechanisms critical for the pathogen Clostridioides difficile to colonize the gut and survive during infection.
Kate Matej is currently studying how a recently discovered class of bacterial organelle – ferrosomes – forms within cells. Her work aims to contribute fundamental knowledge to the field by determining the physical interactions between protein complexes, unique ferrosome lipid composition, and steps of ferrosome formation. Kate received her B.S. in Microbiology from West Chester University and also served as a postgraduate research associate at Yale.
Kristina Ferrara has undertaken a research project to characterize the genes involved in ferrosome formation in C. difficile and to identify additional factors required for ferrosome formation. Kristina earned her B.S. in Biochemistry and Biophysics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and also previously conducted research at Massachusetts General Hospital.