Scholar/Research Associate                        

Visiting Scholars

Postdoctoral Fellows                        

Past Graduate Students Who Completed

Undergraduate Students with Thesis/Report

Past Undergraduate Students without Thesis

Visiting Students       

Middle and High School Students

CURRENT MATHEE CREW 

For Fall 2008 Mathee Lab consists of 15 individuals:

Senior Fellows (3)
1	08/07 -	Research Assistant Professor		Lisa Schneper, Ph.D. ¨ Lab Co-director
2	09/07 -	Post Doctoral Fellow		Olivier Caille, Ph.D. ¨ Working on collaborative experiments in Harvard with Steve Lory
3	12/08 -	Post Doctoral Fellow		Senthil Kumar, Ph.D
Students: Graduate (3), Undergraduate (5) and High school (2)
4	Sp ’06 -	PhD Candidate		Melissa Doud ¨ RISE Scholar ¨ Recipient of Fall 2008 CFF Traineeship grant ($1500) ¨ Recipient of summer NIH-BRI/MBRS 2008 Award ($3000) ¨ Gave a talk at the 2008 North American CF Meeting (10/2008) ¨ Presented a poster at the 2008 American Society for Microbiology Meeting (6/2008) ¨ 8^th Comparative Immunology Symposium: Immunodiversity: Cellular and molecular interactions. Placed third in the “Best Presentation Award” (3/2008) ¨ 10^th Annual Biology Research Symposium. Placed second in the “Best Presentation Award” (2/2008) ¨ Presented a poster at the 2008 Asian Conference in Transcription in Bangalore, India (1/2008) ¨ FIU Minority Biomedical Research Mini-Symposium. Placed first in the “Best Presentation Award” in the graduate students category (9/2007) ¨ Gave a talk at the 2007 American Society for Microbiology – Florida Branch Meeting in St. Petersburg, FL. Placed second in the “Best Presentation Award” in the graduate students category (10/2007)
5	Sp ‘07	PhD student		Deepak Balasubramanian ¨ Summer internship in Harvard Medical School with S. Lory ¨ Presented a poster at the 2008 American Society for Microbiology Meeting (6/2008) ¨ Presented a poster at the 2008 Asian Conference in Transcription in Bangalore, India (1/2008) ¨ Presented a poster 10^th Annual Biology Research Symposium, FIU (2/2008) ¨ Presented a poster at the 2007 American Society for Microbiology – Florida Branch Meeting in St. Petersburg, FL. – “Best Poster Award” in the graduate students category (10/2007)
6	Sp ’07 -	Ph D student		Diansy Zincke ¨ RISE Scholar ¨ Recipient of Fall 2008 CFF Traineeship grant ($1500) ¨ Recipient of summer NIH-BRI/MBRS 2008 Award ($3000) ¨ Presented a poster at the 2008 American Society for Microbiology Meeting. Received “ASM Travel Award” (6/2008) ¨ Presented a poster 10^th Annual Biology Research Symposium, FIU (2/2008)
7	Sp ’07 -	UG Biology		Raphael Bosse ¨ Recipient of Fall 2008 CFF Traineeship grant ($1500) ¨ 2008 Summer internship in MIT, Boston ¨ 2007 Summer internship in Johns Hopkins
8	Sp ’08 -	UG Biomed Eng		Camila Ceballos ¨ RISE Scholar
9	Sum ’08 -	UG Biology		Christian Villaseca
10	Fall ‘ 08	UG Biology		Laura Flores ¨ MARC Scholar
11	Sum ’08 -		High School		Rafael Ortiz Columbus High School (Sophomore)
12	Sum ’08 -		High School		Michael Rodriguez Columbus High School (Sophomore)
Others
13	Fall ’08 -		Technician		Natalie Maricic
14	Sp ’08 -		Technician		Horatio Priestap

SCHOLARS

No	Date	Name, Affiliation, Project Title
Visiting Scholars & Resident Scientist
1	08/00  – 06/01	Chong-Lek Koh, Ph.D. Professor Institute of Biological Sciences (Genetics), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Visiting Fulbright Scholar) Title: Pseudomonas aeruginosa ampDE operon analysis
2	Winter ‘01  11/03 – 07/04	Jim Entry, Ph.D. USDA ARS, Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory, Kimberly, Idaho (Sabbatical Visitor) Title: Using molecular tools to discern microbial diversity
3	Spring ‘07	Karega Paisely, M.D. Resident in University of Miami.
4	12/07 – 6/08	Balasubramanian Danajeyan (Visiting Professor) Exploitation of soil metagenomics for monitoring microbial nitrogen transformation and soil fertility
Postdoctoral Fellows, Current Appointment
1	08/00  – 08/02	Zhijun Song, M.D., Ph.D. Title: Ginseng as anti-bacterial agent for treating Pseudomonas aeruginosa Clinical Microbiologist, Department of Clinical Microbiology, University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2	06/02  – 06/03	DeEtta Mills, Ph.D. Title: (i) Using molecular tools to discern microbial diversity; (ii) Proteomic analysis in response to b-lactam antibiotics in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Director, DNA Fingerprinting Facility, International Forensic Research Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL.

STUDENTS

Past Graduate Students Who Completed
No	Date	Major	Name, Project Title, Current address
1	96-97	Computer Science	Yuan Gao (Coadvised) MS ’97, PhD ‘99 Title: Detection of helix-turn-helix motifs in protein Major Advisor: Dr. Giri Narasimhan Postdoctoral fellow, Harvard Medical School, Boston. Joining as an Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond.
2	Sp ’01 –   Sp ‘03	Biology	Andres Plata Stapper, MS ‘03 Title: Role of exopolysacchride alginate in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation associated with cystic fibrosis. Lab Manager, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.
3	Fall ‘01 –  Fall ‘03	Forensic Science	Sasha Zinzila Miller, MF ‘03 Title: Develop a novel molecular diagnostic tool to track bacterial infection in cystic fibrosis sputum using 16S rRNA. Consultant, Forensic DNA Analysis, Barbados.
4	Sp ‘01 – Sp ‘04	Environ. Science	Ramakrishna Ruttala, MEnv ’04 (Co-advised) Title: Distribution and biogeochemical importance of bacterial population in the Everglades Tree Islands. Major Advisor: Dr. Krishnaswamy Jayachandran Technician, Hemispheric Center for Environmental Technology, Florida International University
5	Fall ‘02 – Sum ‘04	Forensic Science	Sheria King, MF ’04 Title: Investigation of gyrB as a potential forensic microbial molecular marker Ms. King was on a study-leave from the Bahamas police force. She has been an active member of my forensic team and presented her work both at local and national meeting. She was involved in number of projects. Forensic Manager, Bahamas Police Force, Nassau, Bahamas.
6	Fall ‘01 – Fall ‘05	Biology	Kok-Fai Kong, PhD ’05 Title: Characterization of amp genes involved in b-lactamase expression. Postdoctoral Associate, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
7	Fall ‘02 – Fall ‘05	Biology	Robert Todd Sautter, MS ’05 Title: Molecular mechanism responsible for mucoid to nonmucoid conversion in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Technician, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), FL
8	Fall ‘03 – Fall ‘05	Forensic Science	Lillana Moreno, MF ’05 Title: Molecular and chemical characterization of three Miami-Dade soil types for forensic comparison Technician, DNA Fingerprinting Facility, FIU, Miami, FL.
9	Fall ‘03 – Sp ‘06	Forensic Science	Melissa Doud, MF ’05                       Title: The Role of Amplicon Length Heterogeneity – Polymerase Chain Reaction in Microbial Community Profiling and Presumptive Testing of Bioagents Ph.D. Student, Department of Biological Sciences, FIU, Miami, FL.
10	Sp ’05 – Sp ‘07	M.S. (Biomed. Eng.)	Lance Umansky         Title: Development of species-specific probe for Bacillus anthracis. Free Lancer
11	Sp ’04 – Sp ‘08	Ph. D. (Biology)	Allison Adonizio Title: Identification of quorum sensing inhibitors in South Florida medicinal plants. Postdoctoral Fellow, Fred Ausubel’s Lab, Harvard Medical School.
Visiting Students
1	03/07 – 09/07	Ph. D. (Biology)	Chigoziem Derek Nkwonta, University of Ibadan, Nigeria Project Title: Characterization of multi-drug resistant Pseudominas aeruginosa isolates from Southern Nigeria. Visiting PhD student from University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
2	01/08 – 05/08	M.S. (Mol Biol)	Marios Stylianu, Umea University, Sweden Project Title: Mapping mutations responsible for nonmucoid reversion phenotype of mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Past Undergraduate Students with Thesis/Report
No	Date	Name, Project Title, Current address
1	Sum ‘01 – Fall ‘02	Damaris Ramos, BS (Biology) Title: Molecular mechanism responsible for mucoid to nonmucoid conversion in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Ms. Ramos was part of the Honor’s college and the Biology Honors program. The Biology Honors program has stringent admission criteria requiring students to have a GPA in biology subjects to be more than 3.5. She received several honors, awards, and scholarships, notably ¨ The NIH – MBRS – RISE Scholarship to work in my group ¨ The ASM-MURC fellowship that allowed her to spend a summer in Tufts University in Boston ¨ The FIU – Travel Award to present her work at the 7^th Asian Conference on Transcription in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in July 2002. (http://www.fiu.edu/~asian/fu_foundation_scholarship_recipi.htm) ¨ The FIU Honors college award for Academic Excellence in Science/Technology (http://www.fiu.edu/~honors/honorsconvo/) ¨ The FIU Faculty Award for outstanding achievement “Student SpotLight” (http://news.fiu.edu/thisweek/04nov02.htm) ¨ An invitation by Prof. Adhya to present her work at the National Institute of Health (NIH). She also presented her work in October 2002, at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS): Preparing scientists for the 21^st Century, organized by the ASM in New Orleans, LA. Her work was selected for the Proceedings of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR). Only 14% of the works are selected for peer-review publication. Ms. Ramos is currently attending Chiropracter School
2	Fall ’01 – Sp ‘02	Analisa Cumberbach, BS (Biology) (Jointly advised with Dr. Jim Fourqurean)                Title: Characterization of anti-bacterial compounds made by Miami marine algae   ¨ Biology Honors student. ¨ She laid the foundation for some of the current work in my lab. Medical student in University of West Indies.
3	Fall ’01 – Sp ‘03	Maria Raquel Weaver, BS (Biology)                       Report Title: To determine the relationship between alginate production and quorum sensing molecules in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Ms. Weaver was a Honors College student. In her work she was able to improve the tools that is currently used in my lab. She has a number of awards including: ¨ Florida Georgia-Stokes League in Alliance for Minority Scholarship. ¨ Second place in Life-Science Presentation Category for here presentation entitled, “Bacterial communication in expression of the virulent genes of the pathogenic Pseudomonas aeruginosa” at the Florida Georgia-Stokes League in Alliance for Minority Participation Exposition. Currently, she is graduate student in Southwestern University, Dallas.
4	Fall ’01 – Sp ‘03	Alian Aguila   BS (Biology)               Title: Topology analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa AmpG permease. Mr. Aguila was a member of both the University and Biology Honors programs. Alian generated several plasmid constructs that will be used in my lab in many projects. Alian is an exceptional student with many awards and credits to his name, notably, ¨ Biology Honor Student ¨ NIH - National Cancer Institute Cancer Research Fellowship ¨ NIH - National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Summer Internship ¨ NIH-NIGMS MARC U-STAR Scholarship: Awarded to Minority students who are involved in Biomedical Research ¨ Was inducted to Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society ¨ Padron Scholar ¨ Florida Georgia-Stokes League in Alliance for Minority Scholar ¨ Hispanic Scholarship Fund-Department of Energy Award. ¨ FIU Faculty Award for Outstanding Achievement ¨ FIU News “Student Spot Light” (news.fiu.edu/thisweek/01sep03.htm) ¨ FIU Homepage Alumni Spotlight (news.fiu.edu/releases/2003/10-13_alian_aguila.htm) He joined the University of Miami in Aug 2004.
5	Sp ’04 – Fall ‘05	Aditi Gurkar Thesis Title: Phage therapy against Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm Ms. Gurkar is a member of the Biology Honors programs. Aditi is an excellent student with many accomplishments including ¨ Biology Honors Student ¨ Summer Internship in Harvard Medical, Boston with Stephen Lory (Summer 2005); subsequently she joined the lab as a technician in Spring 2006. ¨ 2005 Robert J Smiddy Excellence in Research Award (given to outstanding undergraduate researcher for the quality of thesis and presentation) ¨ FIU Faculty Award for Outstanding Achievement 2006 ¨ Inducted into Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society Graduate student, Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Program in Boston University.
6	Sum ’04 – Fall ‘05	Raquel Olavarietta                Thesis Title: Role of AmpR in biofilm Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm antibiotic resistance ¨ Biology Honors Student ¨ FIU Faculty Award for Outstanding Service in 2005 ¨ Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Traineeship Graduate student in FAU, while waiting to join Medical School.
7	Fall ’03 – Spr ‘06	Sergio Luna Title: Mapping amp gene transcripts ¨ Biology Honors Student ¨ FIU Faculty Award for Outstanding Achievement Joined Albert Einstein in the MD-PhD program. Opted for MD only.
8	Fall ‘04 – Spr ‘06	Sixto Leal Title: Role of Pseudomonas aeruginosa L-serine deaminase in virulence ¨ Biology Honors Student ¨ Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Traineeship Joined Case Western in the MD-PhD program.
9	Spr ‘05 – Spr ‘06	Krystal Anson Title: Development of mold remediation tool ¨ McNair Fellow ¨ FIU Faculty Award for Outstanding Service in 2006 Joined Pennsylvania State University for PhD.
10	Fall ’05 – Spr ‘08	Natalie Maricic Title: Investigating an alternative treatment to cystic fibrosis: testing the effect of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer extracts on Pseudomonas aeruginosa ¨ Biology Honors Student ¨ McNair Fellow ¨ FIU Faculty Award for Outstanding Achievement 2008 ¨ Several Outstanding Poster Awards ¨ 2008 Robert J Smiddy Excellence in Research Award (given to outstanding undergraduate researcher for the quality of thesis and presentation) Currenly. Lab Manager, Mathee Lab.
11	Fall ‘07	Nabil Baker Title: Presumptive identification of the fungal communities in cystic fibrosis patients’ sputum using amplicon length heterogeneity polymerase chain reaction ¨ Honors Student ¨ Summer Internship in Vanderbilt University (Summer 2007 and 2008)

Past Undergraduate Students without Thesis - Nine
No	Date	Name	Current Status
1	Fall ‘00 – Fall ‘01	Diana Guardia	Medical Student (?)
2	Fall ‘00 – Fall ‘02	Hernan Hernandez	Medical Student
3	Fall ‘00	George Hanna	Dental Student
4	Fall ‘00 – Sum ‘02	Kenia Dominguez	MD in Miami
5	Sp ’01 – Sum ‘02	Rafael Martinez	Medical Student (?)
6	Fall ‘01	Vidya Maharaj	FIU Graduate Student
7	Sp ’02 – Fall ‘02	Carlos Cajina	Medical Student
8	Sp ’03 – Sp ‘04	Aimee del Puerto	Technician
9	Fall ’06 – Sp ‘07	Carolina Veronese	Medical Student
10	Sp ’08 – Sum ‘08	Laura Fajardo	FIU Undergraduate Student

Middle and High School Students
No	Date	Name, School, Role
1	Sp ‘98	Ankita Baxi, Houston Middle School, Germantown, TN. Project Title: Bacterial Resistance to Commonly Used Antibiotics She spent the semester working on this project. She received the following awards at the Memphis/Shelby County Science and Engineering Fair ¨ The Commercial Appeal Junior Division Award (The First Prize, Seventh Grade) ¨ The Commercial Appeal Junior Scholar Award ¨ West Tennessee Chapter of the American Statistical Association (Third Place, Junior Division) ¨ Outstanding Achievement Recognition by McDonalds for Top 25 Projects in Junior Division.
2	Sp ‘99	Ankita Baxi, Houston Middle School, Germantown, Tennessee. Project Title: Genetic Exchange  She spent the semester working on this project. She received the following awards at Memphis/Shelby County Science and Engineering Fair. ¨ The Winner of Commercial Appeal Junior Division Award (Eighth Graders) ¨ The Commercial Appeal Junior Lighthouse Scholar Award ¨ Outstanding Achievement Recognition by McDonalds for Top 25 Projects in Junior Division, ¨ Discovery Young Scientist Challenge in Recognition of an Outstanding Ability to Communicate Science.
3	Sum ’03 Sum ‘04	Carolina Cazales, Coral Park High School, Miami Ms. Cazales has been volunteering in my lab during her summer holidays. She has been learning about the how the lab is run. She has done the chemical and enzyme inventory and did a lab map indicating where every item has been placed.
4	Fall ’03 – Sp ‘04	Gary Rodriguez, Coral Park High School, Miami Mr. Rodriguez primary interest is in environmental science. He was certainly a trooper, learning and helping. In Summer ’04, Mr. Rodriguez joined Dr. Joel Trexler’s lab in FIU.