People

Barsha Bhattarai

Barsha completed her bachelors in B.Tech Biotechnology from Nepal and Master's in Applied and Commercial Biotechnology from Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences. Her Master's thesis focused on the Genome-wide study of EIEC and Shigella with the implementation of a series of Bioinformatics tools. For her Ph.D. work, she is interested in working on the detection and analysis of AMR in water and soil samples.

Paula Luengo Carretero

After graduating with a B.S. in Biology from NIU Paula worked for a few months in Paris in a start-up researching antibiotic resistant bacteria and treatment with bacteriophages. This experience sparked her interest in phages as an alternative to antibiotics. She decided to get more industry experience before pursuing a PhD, so she joined Eurofins Biofarma Product as a microbiology analyst in the microbial identification team. She is interested in studying CRE bacteria and checking if phages would be able to kill the bacterial cells.

Gary van Breda

Gary van Breda is a Ph.D. student in the Biological Science department at NIU. His interest is in the prevention of food borne pathogen illnesses. Gary’s academic background includes a BS in Biochemistry and Microbiology (University of Cape Town) and a BS and MS in Food Science (Kansas State University). He is the Director, Global Food Safety (Foods and Packaging) at McDonald’s Corporation. In his current role, he works closely with regulators, academia and the food industry to ensure that McDonald’s food safety programs are reputable, valid and science-based. Prior to McDonald’s he had leadership roles in Quality and Food Safety Management Systems for major food manufacturing companies such as Tate & Lyle, Cargill and the Coca Cola bottling system.

Jeanine Seitz

Jeanine is currently pursuing Ph.D. in Biological Sciences. She earned her B.S. in Biology (minor degree in Psychology) and Master's in Biology (focus on Molecular Phylogenetics) from Loyola University Chicago. She also worked in the healthcare field, providing patient care for approximately twenty years. Jeanine also currently teaches at a northern Illinois college. Her interest in Biofilms includes understanding the genes and cell signaling associated with construction of biofilms, the factors affecting changes in populations of bacteria comprising the gut microbiome - both commensals and pathogens and, the overall contribution of the gut microbiome to health at the organismal level. She is investigating various aspects of Campylobacter presence in wild Bison.

Adam Baldocchi

Adam Baldocchi is a dedicated currently lab manager who graduated from Departmetn of Biological Sciences as a post-baccalaureate Honors student. With a steadfast aspiration to pursue medical school upon completion of his studies, Adam's academic journey is fueled by a passion for healthcare and a commitment to making a meaningful impact in the medical field. He completed his bachelors degree in psychology, is currently working for a large healthcare system, and is an ardent advocate for mental health. His current work in the lab consists of finding bacteria, specifically Salmonella in bison, to help promote food safety. Additionally, he works with bacillus utilizing bioinformatics tools. He has a passion for the intersection between genomics and bioinformatics.

Lab Alumni

Graduate

• Ritesh Ray, Ph.D. 2026
• Laurie Spencer, Ph.D. 2026
• Adam Nuccio, Ph.D. 2025

Undergraduate

• Adam Baldocchi, Honors B.S. 2025
• Aleena Kallan, Honors S. 2025
• Vrinda Brahmbhatt, Honors B.S. 2025
• Luke Ademoski, Honors B.S.2025
• Whitney Vanman, B.S. 2025
• Kylie Bresley, B.S. 2025
• Mark Figueroa, B.S. 2024
• Halee Tyszka, B.S. 2023
• Samantha Mallinder, B.S. 2023
• Yousuf Khan, Honors S. 2023
• Liliana Banuelos, Honors S. 2023
• Chloe` Harvey, B.S. 2022
• Paula Luengo Carretero, B.S. 2022
• Tina Sison, B.S. 2021
• Alex Hover, B.S. 2020
• Edward Allen, B.S. 2019
• Kyi Zay Min, B.S. 2019
• Bhumi Shah, B.S. 2019