From Left: Jack, Miriam, Camille and Eduardo in September 2024. Camille and Eduardo helped Miriam and Jack kick of their microbiology graduate group rotation. Miriam focused on enzymatic transformation of mycotoxins by microbial consortia from black soldier fly larvae, while Jack focused on PFAS bioaccumulation by the larvae when exposed to landfill leachate.
One thing I love about Fall quarter is the launch of projects (professional and personal) and welcoming new students to UC Davis. This year I was pleased to welcome two new PhD students in the Microbiology Graduate Group (MGG) for a Fall quarter rotation!
Over 5 weeks, Miriam Lepiz and Jack Bartlett worked with postdoctoral researchers, Dr. Camille Wolfe and Dr. Wenting Li, and environmental engineering MS student Eduardo Baptista De Siqueira. The team has been working on our group’s NSF CAREER project to harness microbes in the guts of Black Soldier Fly Larvae to sequester and degrade contaminants.
The incoming MGG students will rotate in four research groups as part of their initial training and finding the right fit for a PhD project.
Miriam Lepiz cultured microbes that are known to degrade mycotoxins: “With a background in microbial ecology and evolution, I am interested in studying and taking advantage of microbial evolution to combat environmental issues impacting human and animal health. Previously at UC Irvine I studied the complex interactions found within synthetic leaf litter microbial communities to understand how these communities impact biogeochemical cycling and ultimately be used to understand the role environmental microbes have on climate change.”Jack Bartlett took a turn at rearing (and counting) Black Soldier Fly Larvae for a bioaccumulation experiment using landfill leachate: “Before moving to UC Davis to pursue my Ph.D., I worked at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in the Wolfgang Busch lab where I researched genes associated with suberination in roots of A. thaliana. I am interested in bioremediation, climate change effect mitigation, and sustainability measures.”
