Steering Committee
- Victoria Orphan, CEMI Director
- James Irvine Professor of Environmental Science and Geobiology; Allen V. C. Davis and Lenabelle Davis Leadership Chair, Center for Environmental Microbial Interactions
- Sujit Datta
- Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Biophysics
- Lea Goentoro
- Professor of Biology
- Jared Leadbetter
- Professor of Environmental Microbiology
- Mikhail Shapiro
- Professor of Chemical Engineering; Heritage Principal Investigator, Schlinger Scholar Affiliated Faculty of Bioengineering and Medical Engineering
- Kaihang Wang
- Assistant Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering
Staff
- Kristy Nguyen
- CEMI Program Coordinator
626.395.3287
kristyn@caltech.edu
Faculty
- Alexei Aravin
- Professor of Biology
- Frances Arnold
- Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry; Director, Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen Bioengineering Center
- Pamela Bjorkman
- Centennial Professor of Biology
- Long Cai
- Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering
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- Judith Campbell
- Professor of Chemistry and Biology
- William Clemons
- Professor of Biochemistry
- Michael Elowitz
- Professor of Biology and Bioengineering; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Executive Officer for Biological Engineering
- Woodward Fischer
- Professor of Geobiology
- Lea Goentoro
- Professor of Biology
- Viviana Gradinaru
- Professor of Neuroscience and Biological Engineering; Investigator, Heritage Medical Research Institute; Director, Center for Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience
- Harry Gray
- Arnold O. Beckman Professor of Chemistry; Founding Director, Beckman Institute
- Rustem Ismagilov
- Ethel Wilson Bowles and Robert Bowles Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering; Director of the Jacobs Institute for Molecular Engineering for Medicine
- Joe Kirschvink
- Nico and Marilyn Van Wingen Professor of Geobiology
- Jared Leadbetter
- Professor of Environmental Microbiology
- Sarkis Mazmanian
- Luis B. and Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology; Investigator, Heritage Medical Research Institute
- Margaret McFall-Ngai
- Faculty Associate in Biology and Biological Engineering, Caltech; Director, Division of Biosphere Sciences & Engineering
- Richard Murray
- Thomas E. and Doris Everhart Professor of Control and Dynamical Systems and Bioengineering
- Dianne Newman
- Gordon M. Binder/Amgen Professor of Biology and Geobiology; Executive Officer for Molecular Biology; CEMI founding director
- Victoria Orphan
- James Irvine Professor of Environmental Science and Geobiology; Allen V. C. Davis and Lenabelle Davis Leadership Chair, Center for Environmental Microbial Interactions
- Joseph Parker
- Assistant Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering
- Jonas Peters
- Bren Professor of Chemistry; Director, Resnick Sustainability Institute
- Niles Pierce
- Professor of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Bioengineering
- Rob Phillips
- Fred and Nancy Morris Professor of Biophysics, Biology, and Physics
- Douglas Rees
- Roscoe Gilkey Dickinson Professor of Chemistry; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Dean of Graduate Studies
- Michael Roukes
- Frank J. Roshek Professor of Physics, Applied Physics, and Bioengineering
- Ned Ruby
- Faculty Associate in Biology and Biological Engineering, Caltech
- Alex Sessions
- Professor of Geobiology
- Mikhail Shapiro
- Professor of Chemical Engineering; Heritage Principal Investigator, Schlinger Scholar Affiliated Faculty of Bioengineering and Medical Engineering
- Paul Sternberg
- Bren Professor of Biology
- David Tirrell
- Provost; Ross McCollum-William H. Corcoran Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering; Carl and Shirley Larson Provostial Chair
- David Van Valen
- Assistant Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering
- Kaihang Wang
- Assistant Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering
Emeritus CEMI Faculty
- Jacqueline Barton
- John G. Kirkwood and Arthur A. Noyes Professor of Chemistry; Norman Davidson Leadership Chair, Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
- Michael Hoffmann
- John S. and Sherry Chen Professor of Environmental Science
CEMI Visiting Faculty Fellows
- Ludmilla Aristilde
- Northwestern University
- Interests: Unraveling Mechanisms in Environmental Organic Processes and Environmental Biotechnology
- Visiting 2023
- Boswell Wing
- University of Colorado, Boulder
- Interests: experimental microbial evolution, stable isotope geochemistry, precambrian geology, early earth
- Visiting 2023
- Emily Balskus
- Harvard University
- Interests: Discovery of microbial enzymes and metabolites, understanding how microbial chemistry influences the biology of microbes and microbiomes.
- Visiting 2023
- Colleen Cavanaugh
- Harvard University
- Interests: Symbioses of bacteria in marine invertebrates from deep-sea hydrothermal vents, methane seeps, and coastal reducing sediments
- Visiting 2020
- Dao Nguyen
- McGill University (Canada)
- Interests: Bacterial metabolism, antibiotic tolerance and host-pathogen interactions in chronic infection
- Visiting 2019
- John McCutcheon
- University of Montana
- Interests: Symbioses involving bacteria, fungi, and insects, with particular focus on the evolutionary, genomic, and cell biological processes that govern these interactions
- Visiting 2018
- Roy Kishony
- Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
- Interests: Predicting and preventing the evolution of antibiotic resistance
- Visited 2018
- Andreas Kappler
- University of Tuebingen
- Interests: Interactions of microorganisms and minerals
- Visited 2016, 2017
- Michael Wagner
- University of Vienna
- Interests: Investigating the identity and function of individual microbial cells within their natural habitats
- Visited 2016
- Kevin Foster
- University of Oxford
- Interests: Social lives of microbes and other group-living species
- Visited 2014, 2016
- Jim Howard
- University of Minnesota
- Interests: Microbial niches in unusual environments where nitrogen fixation may occur
- Visited 2014
- Stuart Conway
- University of Oxford
- Interests: Development of small molecule probes of bacterial function
- Visited 2013
- Ian Booth
- University of Aberdeen
- Interests: The mechanisms and physiological roles of mechanosensitive channels
- Visited 2012, 2013, 2014
- Sean Elliott
- Boston University
- Interests: The interplay between biological systems and redox-active species
- Visited 2012
- Ned Ruby
- University of Hawaii
- Interests: Bacterial basis for biochemical and molecular events that characterize colonization of animal epithelial tissue
- Visited 2011, 2012
- Margaret Mcfall-Ngai
- University of Hawaii
- Interests: Host-bacterial symbiosis and the 'design' of tissues that interact with light
- Visited 2011, 2012
Caldwell CEMI Fellows
- Hannah Way
- 2023 Caldwell Fellow
- Physiological investigation of a novel manganese oxidizing chemolithoautotrophic co-culture, exploring the symbiosis between partners and the relationship between these microbes and the unique manganese oxides they generate.
- Advisors: Jared Leadbetter
- Shaelyn Silverman
- 2022 Caldwell Fellow
- Marine particulate organic matter turnover: insight into the microscale ecology, and development of a novel analytical (stable isotopic) tool for in situ environmental measurements
- Advisors: Alex Sessions and Victoria Orphan
- Shivansh Mahajan
- 2021 Caldwell Fellow
- Towards a mechanistic understanding of the arsenic detoxification machinery – the ArsAB efflux system, with implications for bioremediation
- Advisors: Bil Clemons, Doug Rees, and Dianne Newman
- Przemyslaw Dutka
- 2020 Caldwell Fellow
- In situ structural analysis of gas vesicles by cryo-electron tomography
- Advisors: Mikhail Shapiro and Grant Jensen
- Manuel Razo Mejia
- 2019 Caldwell Fellow
- A high-throughput, biophysics approach to study microbial evolution
- Advisors: Rob Phillips and Matt Thomson
- Asher Preska Steinberg
- 2018 Caldwell Fellow
- Understanding how emulsifiers in food impact the colonic mucus barrier and microbe-host interactions
- Advisors: Rustem Ismagilov and Sarkis Mazmanian
CEMI WAVE Fellows
Applications are due Jan 9, 2023. Visit the WAVE Fellows website.
Find out about our CEMI Teaching/Mentorship program with CalState LA and Pasadena City College.
- Nalani Quintana
- University of Florida
- 2024 CEMI WAVE Fellow
- Project: Characterizing Sediment Microbial Communities and Investigating the Impact of the Physicochemical Environment on Methane Cycling Across Methane Seeps in the Gulf of Alaska
- Mentor: Orphan Victoria and Dan Utter
- Jayden Thomas
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- 2024 CEMI WAVE Fellow
- Project: Understanding Biological Metabolism in Biotic-Electrochemical Interface of Bacteria: S. oneidensis
- Mentor: Karthish Manthiram
- Stella Baldwin
- University of Southern California
- 2023 CEMI WAVE Fellow
- Project: Visualizing ANME-2b genetic variation using 16S rRNA data, fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH), and bioorthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT) to target single metabolic genes
- Mentor: Orphan Victoria and Dan Utter
- Ana Duarte Montano
- Smith College
- 2023 CEMI WAVE Fellow
- Project: Identification, cloning, and characterization of monoclonal antibodies that interact with different receptor-binding domains on sarbecoviruses
- Mentor: Pamela Bjorkman
- Christian Cepeda
- Stanford
- 2022 CEMI WAVE Fellow
- Project: Designing and cloning HIV-1 Env-based immunogen constructs
- Mentor: Pamela Bjorkman
- Madison Ochoa
- Northern Arizona University
- 2022 CEMI WAVE Fellow
- Mentor: Dianne Newman
- Jackeline Peraza
- Barnard College of Columbia University
- 2022 CEMI WAVE Fellow
- Mentor: Paul Sternberg
- Alejandra Leal
- Cal State Los Angeles
- 2022 BBE CEMI WAVE Fellow
- Mentor: Rodney Tollerson (Orphan Lab)
- Juliann Panehal
- Cal State Los Angeles
- 2022 BBE CEMI WAVE Fellow
- Project: Measuring isotopic compositions in subsurface environments to investigate abiotic organogenesis
- Mentor: Elliott Mueller (Sessions Lab)
- Gia Han Vuong
- Pasadena City College
- 2022 BBE CEMI WAVE Fellow
- Project: Quantitative observation of P. aeruginosa within oxygen gradients (i.e. ABBAs) toward understanding antibiotic tolerance
- Mentor: Avi Flamholz (Newman Lab)
- India Wesley-Cardwell
- Cal State Los Angeles
- 2022 BBE CEMI WAVE Fellow
- Mentor: Karen Orta (Clemons Lab)
- Nicole Garrido
- UCLA
- 2021 CEMI WAVE Fellow
- Characterizing the Microbial Ecology of Coastal Seagrass Roots and Associated Sediments
- Mentors: Victoria Orphan, Kriti Sharma, James Mullahoo
- Juan Santos
- Pitzer College
- 2021 CEMI WAVE Fellow
- Identifying the Correlation Between N-oxide Reduction and Resistance to Antibiotics in Achromobacter xylosoxidans Clinical Isolates
- Mentors: Dianne Newman, Zach Lonergan, Steven Wilbert
1st Year Graduate Student Fellows
| Year | Student | Division/Department |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Jordan Chastain | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2024 | Kemal Demirer | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2024 | Yurina Hashimoto | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2024 | Dayeon Kang | Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
| 2024 | Esther Okamoto | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2024 | Patrick Simpson | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2023 | Yihan (Olive) Cheng | Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
| 2023 | Catherine Griffin | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2023 | Manuel Holguin | Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
| 2023 | Elizabeth (Liz) Hughes | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2023 | Doran Sekaran | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2023 | Clara Seo | Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
| 2023 | Akanksha Yadav | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2022 | Chiara Berruto | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2022 | Joe Boktor | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2022 | Michael Anne Bolene | Engineering and Applied Science |
| 2022 | Madison Dunitz | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2022 | Anthony Guiterrez | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2021 | David Aguirre | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2021 | Vera Beilinson | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2021 | Alejandro Cabrera | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2021 | Jarek Kwiecinski | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2021 | Juliet Lee | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2021 | Kelly Shaffer | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2021 | Sarah Weisflog | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2020 | Matt Cooper | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2020 | Noah Epstein | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2020 | Richard Horak | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2020 | Elin Larsson | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2020 | Yancheng Li | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2020 | James Mullahoo | Engineering and Applied Science |
| 2020 | Vy Nguyen | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2020 | Anastasiya Oguienko | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2020 | Calvin Rusley | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2020 | Korbi Thalhammer | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2020 | Hannah Way | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2020 | Jee Won Yang | Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
| 2020 | Raymond Zhang | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2019 | Zevin Condiotte | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2019 | Hannah Dion-Kirschner | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2019 | Mengtong (Tom) Duan | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2019 | Manisha Kapasiawala | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2019 | Anastasiya (Ana) Moiseyenko | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2019 | Alexander Winnett | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2019 | Rebecca Wipfler | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2019 | Jie (Jolena) Zhou | Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
| 2018 | Marjorie Buss | Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
| 2018 | Bryan Gerber | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2018 | Gabriel Salmon | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2018 | Shirin Shivaei | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2018 | Shaelyn Silverman | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2018 | Daniel Wackelin | Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
| 2018 | Steven Wilbert | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2018 | Philip Woods | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2017 | Jacob Barlow | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2017 | John Ciemniecki | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2017 | Zhiyang Jin | Engineering and Applied Science |
| 2017 | Aditi Narayanan | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2017 | Lev Tsypin | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2017 | Nadezda Volovich | Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
| 2017 | Renee Wang | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2016 | Bill Ling | Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
| 2016 | Elliot Mackrell | Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
| 2016 | Lealia Xiong | Engineering and Applied Science |
| 2015 | Gray Chadwick | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2015 | April Jauhal | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2015 | Anders Knight | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2015 | Sujung Lim | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2015 | Usha Lingappa | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2015 | Xinyan Liu | Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
| 2015 | Lucas A. Meirelles | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2015 | Andrew Patterson | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2015 | Elena Perry | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2015 | Malaney Young | Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
| 2014 | Kyle Metcalfe | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2014 | Scott Saunders | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2014 | Meaghan Sullivan | Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics |
| 2014 | Chanel Valiente | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2013 | Sean Mullin | Geological and Planetary Sciences |
| 2013 | Sofia Quinodoz | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2013 | Yapeng Su | Chemistry and Chemical Engineering |
| 2012 | Michael Abrams | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2012 | Tahmineh Khazaei | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2012 | Sushant Sundaresh | Biology and Biological Engineering |
| 2012 | Lewis Ward | Geological and Planetary Sciences |