Barrick Lab :: Team

Principal Investigator

	Prof. Jeffrey E. Barrick 🐋 Associate Professor of Molecular Biosciences (01/2011–present) B.S. Chemistry, Caltech Ph.D. Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University Postdoc, Michigan State University Twitter: @barricklab Prof. Barrick has a longstanding interest in fundamental and applied studies of molecular and microbial evolution. He is currently interested in intersections between those topics, synthetic biology, and entomology. He is an avid if plodding swimmer and enjoys the "classics" of literature, including a certain 19th century American novel involving a monomaniacal fascination with an albino cetacean.

Prof. Jeffrey E. Barrick 🐋

Associate Professor of Molecular Biosciences (01/2011–present)
B.S. Chemistry, Caltech
Ph.D. Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University
Postdoc, Michigan State University
Twitter: @barricklab

Prof. Barrick has a longstanding interest in fundamental and applied studies of molecular and microbial evolution. He is currently interested in intersections between those topics, synthetic biology, and entomology. He is an avid if plodding swimmer and enjoys the "classics" of literature, including a certain 19th century American novel involving a monomaniacal fascination with an albino cetacean.

Lab Manager

	Jack Dwenger 👀 Lab Manager (11/2022–present) B.S.A Biochemistry, University of Texas at Austin Working as the lab manager, making sure things always work in Barrick's lab.

Jack Dwenger 👀

Lab Manager (11/2022–present)
B.S.A Biochemistry, University of Texas at Austin

Working as the lab manager, making sure things always work in Barrick's lab.

Senior Researchers

	Prof. Dennis Mishler ⚔ Assistant Professor of Practice and Research Educator for the Freshman Research Initiative (04/2013–present) B.S. Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California at San Diego Ph.D. Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University Postdoc Emory University Dr. Mishler leads the "Microbe Hackers" undergraduate research lab and co-advises the UT Austin iGEM team with Professor Barrick. The Microbe Hackers most recent research has focused on "Caffeinated Coli", including a 2019 publication in AEM, among other projects. He is super proud of all of his students, but wants to give a shout out to the 2019 iGEM team members who were recognized with a Best Measurement award this past fall. Prior to coming to UT Austin, he worked in the fields of pre-mRNA splicing and synthetic riboswitches. He is an avid gamer and can be found regularly playing games throughout Austin. He annually attends the World Boardgaming Championships, where his main games include Here I Stand and Sekigahara

Prof. Dennis Mishler ⚔

Assistant Professor of Practice and Research Educator for the Freshman Research Initiative (04/2013–present)
B.S. Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California at San Diego
Ph.D. Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University
Postdoc Emory University

Dr. Mishler leads the "Microbe Hackers" undergraduate research lab and co-advises the UT Austin iGEM team with Professor Barrick. The Microbe Hackers most recent research has focused on "Caffeinated Coli", including a 2019 publication in AEM, among other projects. He is super proud of all of his students, but wants to give a shout out to the 2019 iGEM team members who were recognized with a Best Measurement award this past fall. Prior to coming to UT Austin, he worked in the fields of pre-mRNA splicing and synthetic riboswitches. He is an avid gamer and can be found regularly playing games throughout Austin. He annually attends the World Boardgaming Championships, where his main games include Here I Stand and Sekigahara

	Dr. Daniel Deatherage ✅ Research Associate (09/2011–present) B.S. Biochemistry, University of Evansville Ph.D. Molecular Cellular Developmental Biology, The Ohio State University Dan’s exposure to Illumina sequencing data in his graduate work on ovarian cancer has morphed into an interest in using next generation sequencing data to answer questions about evolution and synthetic biology in microbes. Dan is always exploring ways of using non-standard library preparation techniques to get extra data from NGS data to do such things as lower error rates and limits of variant detection, increase coverage of variant regions, and replace laborious assays with NGS workflows. Recently published work on selecting for microbes with lower-than-natural mutation rates has encompassed many of these methods. He looks forward to publishing another such study involving tracking evolution at low frequencies soon. In his spare time Dan wonders if his listening to audiobooks counts as having “read” 100s of books per year, or reading zero books per year.

Dr. Daniel Deatherage ✅

Research Associate (09/2011–present)
B.S. Biochemistry, University of Evansville
Ph.D. Molecular Cellular Developmental Biology, The Ohio State University

Dan’s exposure to Illumina sequencing data in his graduate work on ovarian cancer has morphed into an interest in using next generation sequencing data to answer questions about evolution and synthetic biology in microbes. Dan is always exploring ways of using non-standard library preparation techniques to get extra data from NGS data to do such things as lower error rates and limits of variant detection, increase coverage of variant regions, and replace laborious assays with NGS workflows. Recently published work on selecting for microbes with lower-than-natural mutation rates has encompassed many of these methods. He looks forward to publishing another such study involving tracking evolution at low frequencies soon. In his spare time Dan wonders if his listening to audiobooks counts as having “read” 100s of books per year, or reading zero books per year.

Postdoctoral Fellows

	Dr. Isaac Gifford 🐴 Postdoctoral Fellow (01/2020–present) B.S. Microbiology, University of Texas at Austin Ph.D. Microbiology, University of California Davis Isaac’s primary research interests are the mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer and its role in genome evolution. He currently works with Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1 while his graduate work focused on molecular genetics of Frankia nitrogen-fixing symbioses. Isaac’s personal interests include game design and 21st century sequential art.

Dr. Isaac Gifford 🐴

Postdoctoral Fellow (01/2020–present)
B.S. Microbiology, University of Texas at Austin
Ph.D. Microbiology, University of California Davis

Isaac’s primary research interests are the mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer and its role in genome evolution. He currently works with Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1 while his graduate work focused on molecular genetics of Frankia nitrogen-fixing symbioses. Isaac’s personal interests include game design and 21st century sequential art.

	Dr. Patrick (PJ) Lariviere 🦉 Postdoctoral Fellow (08/2021–present) Jointly advised with Nancy Moran B.A. Biochemistry, Bowdoin College Ph.D. Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine As a molecular microbiologist with industry experience, PJ is broadly interested in both studying and engineering biological systems involving bacteria. He is currently developing molecular tools for use in engineering symbionts of honey bees. Ultimately, PJ hopes these tools would be beneficial both in basic science research and real world applications, allowing for more robust study of bee genetics and protection against pathogens. PJ is also interested in studying the interaction between honey bees and their bacterial symbionts at a molecular scale. Outside of lab, PJ enjoys running, biking, playing/listening to music, and playing with his dog Duncan.

Dr. Patrick (PJ) Lariviere 🦉

Postdoctoral Fellow (08/2021–present) Jointly advised with Nancy Moran
B.A. Biochemistry, Bowdoin College
Ph.D. Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

As a molecular microbiologist with industry experience, PJ is broadly interested in both studying and engineering biological systems involving bacteria. He is currently developing molecular tools for use in engineering symbionts of honey bees. Ultimately, PJ hopes these tools would be beneficial both in basic science research and real world applications, allowing for more robust study of bee genetics and protection against pathogens. PJ is also interested in studying the interaction between honey bees and their bacterial symbionts at a molecular scale. Outside of lab, PJ enjoys running, biking, playing/listening to music, and playing with his dog Duncan.

Graduate Students

	Matt McGuffie 🦗 Microbiology Graduate Student (05/2018-present) B.S. Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Michigan M.S. Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Twitter: @matt_mcguffie Email: mmcguffiATgmailDOTcom Matt is broadly interested in synthetic biology, basic bacteriology, and data science/visualization. Previously, Matt studied bacterial biofilms and phages, and he is currently examining the evolutionary failure of genetic devices. In his time outside of lab, he likes to obsessively accumulate hobbies including, but not limited to: guitar, rock climbing, gardening, mushroom farming, insect rearing, scuba diving, and backpacking.

Matt McGuffie 🦗

Microbiology Graduate Student (05/2018-present)
B.S. Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Michigan
M.S. Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan
Twitter: @matt_mcguffie
Email: mmcguffiATgmailDOTcom

Matt is broadly interested in synthetic biology, basic bacteriology, and data science/visualization. Previously, Matt studied bacterial biofilms and phages, and he is currently examining the evolutionary failure of genetic devices. In his time outside of lab, he likes to obsessively accumulate hobbies including, but not limited to: guitar, rock climbing, gardening, mushroom farming, insect rearing, scuba diving, and backpacking.

	Cameron Roots 🦊 Biochemistry Graduate Student (05/2020–present) B.S. Biochemistry; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Washington Post-baccalaureate Certificate, National Institutes of Health Twitter: @_croots Email: crootsATutexasDOTedu Cameron work seeks to improve our ability to predict burden and consequential behavior of small systems, such as bacteriophages or engineered plasmids. His past work was in mitochondria systems genetics and cell-machine interfacing. Ultimately, Cameron would like to work towards synthetic biology as a system to solve human-derived problems like diabetes and pollution through contributing research, policy, or outreach. He has too many hobbies, but some highlights include Dungeons and Dragons, playing guitar, and running.

Cameron Roots 🦊

Biochemistry Graduate Student (05/2020–present)
B.S. Biochemistry; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Washington
Post-baccalaureate Certificate, National Institutes of Health
Twitter: @_croots
Email: crootsATutexasDOTedu

Cameron work seeks to improve our ability to predict burden and consequential behavior of small systems, such as bacteriophages or engineered plasmids. His past work was in mitochondria systems genetics and cell-machine interfacing. Ultimately, Cameron would like to work towards synthetic biology as a system to solve human-derived problems like diabetes and pollution through contributing research, policy, or outreach. He has too many hobbies, but some highlights include Dungeons and Dragons, playing guitar, and running.

	Victor Li 🐖 Microbiology Graduate Student (05/2021–present) B.S. Human Biology; University of California San Diego Email: livictorATutexasDOTedu Victor is interested in synthetic biology and evolution. His previous work was in phage evolution and ecology. His current work is on evolution and genetic stability in phage and bee gut symbionts. Victor is taking up cooking but still ends up ordering take out far too often.

Victor Li 🐖

Microbiology Graduate Student (05/2021–present)
B.S. Human Biology; University of California San Diego
Email: livictorATutexasDOTedu

Victor is interested in synthetic biology and evolution. His previous work was in phage evolution and ecology. His current work is on evolution and genetic stability in phage and bee gut symbionts. Victor is taking up cooking but still ends up ordering take out far too often.

	A H M Zuberi Ashraf 🐼 Microbiology Graduate Student (05/2022–present) B.S. Biology (Biotechnology Concentration), Minor in Chemistry, Texas A&M University-Central Texas Email: ashraf.ahmz95ATutexasDOTedu Zuberi is interested in evolution in symbionts and the different forces that drives it. He is currently working with the honeybee gut symbiont, Snodgrassella alvi. In the past, Zuberi worked as a MLS in a microbiology lab from Baylor Scott & White. During his undergraduate years, Zuberi studied the crop microbiome community in honeybees and how that affected honey composition. Outside of work, Zuberi loves to travel, go on hikes, and try the different types of food all over Austin

A H M Zuberi Ashraf 🐼

Microbiology Graduate Student (05/2022–present)
B.S. Biology (Biotechnology Concentration), Minor in Chemistry, Texas A&M University-Central Texas
Email: ashraf.ahmz95ATutexasDOTedu

Zuberi is interested in evolution in symbionts and the different forces that drives it. He is currently working with the honeybee gut symbiont, Snodgrassella alvi. In the past, Zuberi worked as a MLS in a microbiology lab from Baylor Scott & White. During his undergraduate years, Zuberi studied the crop microbiome community in honeybees and how that affected honey composition. Outside of work, Zuberi loves to travel, go on hikes, and try the different types of food all over Austin

Undergraduate Students

	Joseph Reitman 🐕 Undergraduate Researcher (01/2020-present) B.S. Biochemistry, UT Austin (in-progress) Certificate in Scientific Computation, UT Austin (in-progress) Joseph is interested in synthetic biology, evolution, and statistics. He is developing computational methods to detect structural variation in E. coli genomes. Outside of the lab, you can find him rock climbing, playing chess, singing in a choir, or debating Jewish Law.

Joseph Reitman 🐕

Undergraduate Researcher (01/2020-present)
B.S. Biochemistry, UT Austin (in-progress)
Certificate in Scientific Computation, UT Austin (in-progress)

Joseph is interested in synthetic biology, evolution, and statistics. He is developing computational methods to detect structural variation in E. coli genomes. Outside of the lab, you can find him rock climbing, playing chess, singing in a choir, or debating Jewish Law.

	Braydin McReynolds 🦡 Undergraduate Researcher (05/2021-present) A.A.S. Biotechnology, Austin Community College B.S. Computational Biology, UT Austin (in-progress) Braydin’s current research involves symbionts of leafhoppers and using those symbionts as a means of engineering their hosts. When he’s not wrangling leafhoppers Braydin is heavily involved in esports, and enjoys books of all kinds and trying to write them.

Braydin McReynolds 🦡

Undergraduate Researcher (05/2021-present)
A.A.S. Biotechnology, Austin Community College
B.S. Computational Biology, UT Austin (in-progress)

Braydin’s current research involves symbionts of leafhoppers and using those symbionts as a means of engineering their hosts. When he’s not wrangling leafhoppers Braydin is heavily involved in esports, and enjoys books of all kinds and trying to write them.

	Aneesa Bhakta 🐢 Undergraduate Researcher (09/2021-present) B.S. Biochemistry, UT Austin (in-progress) Aneesa is interested in synthetic biology and bacteriophages. Her current research involves surfactant proteins and click chemistry with phages. Outside of the Barrick lab, she’s involved in the Caffeinated Coli project in the Microbe Hackers FRI stream. After graduating she hopes to pursue an MD/PhD. Outside of lab, she likes researching Marvel easter eggs, swimming, reading, writing, drawing, and tiny legos.

Aneesa Bhakta 🐢

Undergraduate Researcher (09/2021-present)
B.S. Biochemistry, UT Austin (in-progress)

Aneesa is interested in synthetic biology and bacteriophages. Her current research involves surfactant proteins and click chemistry with phages. Outside of the Barrick lab, she’s involved in the Caffeinated Coli project in the Microbe Hackers FRI stream. After graduating she hopes to pursue an MD/PhD. Outside of lab, she likes researching Marvel easter eggs, swimming, reading, writing, drawing, and tiny legos.

	Laurel Miller 🦇 Undergraduate Researcher (10/2021-present) B.S. Biology, UT Austin (in-progress) Laurel is interested in application of synthetic biology concepts in eukaryotic models. She is currently working on engineering gut microbes of honeybees and bumblebees. Outside the Barrick lab, Laurel enjoys tending to her army of houseplants, arguing with her iguana, and collecting tree leaves.

Laurel Miller 🦇

Undergraduate Researcher (10/2021-present)
B.S. Biology, UT Austin (in-progress)

Laurel is interested in application of synthetic biology concepts in eukaryotic models. She is currently working on engineering gut microbes of honeybees and bumblebees. Outside the Barrick lab, Laurel enjoys tending to her army of houseplants, arguing with her iguana, and collecting tree leaves.

Barrick Lab > LabPersonnel

Contributors to this topic

JeffreyBarrick, SarahBialik, KateElston, AustinMeyer, MichaelHammerling, CraigBarnhart, CameronRoots, AurkoDasgupta, JuliePerreau, SeanLeonard, IsaacGifford, GabrielSuarez, ZuberiAshraf, AlvaroRodriguez, ColinBrown, DennisMishler, SimonDAlton, ElizabethRobinson, GeoffColburn, JackDwenger, VictorLi, DaciaLeon, LindseyWolf, JordanMonk, DanielDeatherage, PengGeng

Topic revision: r239 - 2023-02-22 - 22:18:14 - Main.JackDwenger