The Baltrus Lab

David A Baltrus

Principle Investigator

baltrus (at) arizona (dot) edu
David (he/him) got his PhD from the University of Oregon, and then did a postdoc at the University of North Carolina. His hobbies include raising two kids and owning farm animals.

Meara Clark

Research Technician - Lab Manager

 mclark8 (at) arizona (dot) edu
Meara (she/her) graduated with an undergraduate degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Arizona. For 3 years she has worked as a laboratory manager in the Baltrus Lab. Her favorite project involves trying to discover the purpose of a megaplasmid(Pla107) that originated from Pseudomonas syringae.

Interests: 
​Hiking, camping, tacos, and board games

Morgan Carter

Postdoc

morgancarter (at) arizona (dot) edu
Morgan (she/her) got her Ph.D. in plant pathology from Cornell University while working on everything from plant immunity to bacteria that live inside of fungi. She is now at the Baltrus lab to improve her bacterial genomics skills and contribute to projects on endofungal bacteria and effector biology. In her free time, she likes to cook, hike with her pup, and play board and video games.

Graduate Students

Aaron White

Masters Student

 aaronwhite206 (at) email (dot) arizona (dot) edu
Aaron (he/him) is researching the effect of seed association with Arizona streptomyces isolates in order to quantify their effects on germination and early root development. Uncovering elements of the genetics behind symbiotic association of plants and bacteria will inform further research on how bacteria interact with plants to establish beneficial and harmful relationships. Aaron is originally from Tacoma Washington. He came to Tucson by way of Boise Idaho where he did potato research. Before potatoes Aaron got his undergraduate degree in biotechnology from Washington State University in Pullman, where he primarily did research into the effect of different types of light on early plant development. He lives in Tucson with his cat Jiji, and his son Lucca. 

​Interests:
Cooking (eating), yoga, music, and games. 

Savannah Weaver

PhD Student

 slweaver1222 (at) email (dot) arizona (dot) edu
Savannah (she/her) received her B.S. in biology from Campbell University in 2017, her M.S. in microbial biotechnology from The University of Arizona in 2019, and is now working towards her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology in the Baltrus lab. When Savannah is outside of the lab, she enjoys CrossFit, hiking with her dog Luna, trying new ethnic foods, and reading.

Laura Krings

PhD Student

 lkrings (at) email (dot) arizona (dot) edu

Undergraduate Students

Madison Mollico

B.S. in Biochemistry 
Minor in Microbiology

mmollico (at) email (dot) arizona (dot) edu 
Madi (she/her) has been an undergraduate researcher in the Baltrus lab since 2018.  She will be graduating in Spring 2021 with a BS in biochemistry and minors in microbiology and chemistry.  Although she enjoys contributing to a variety of projects, her main research focus is the CRISPR system on the Pseudomonas megaplasmid pBASL58.  Outside of the lab and the library, Madi can be found reading Margaret Atwood novels under a shady tree, doting on her pet rabbit, Paisley Mae, or painting with watercolors.  After wrapping up her senior year she plans to pursue a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and pursue a career in laboratory animal medicine.

JP Lisk

B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology

julialisk (at) arizona (dot) edu
JP (they/them) is currently studying to earn their bachelor's degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology with a minor in Biochemistry. Their work focuses on fungi phenotypic expression and they enjoy learning new laboratory techniques. They intend to pursue a career in genetics research after graduating in Spring 2021.

​Interests:
Writing, Podcasts, Their Cat

Jessica Martin

B.S. in Microbiology
​

​Jessica (she/her) is pursuing her undergraduate degree in Microbiology. She is slated to graduate in Spring 2021 and hopes to pursue a graduate degree in Immunology after obtaining some field experience. When not in the lab, Jessica enjoys hiking, traveling, and playing with her dog Appa.

Brad Haeckel

Returning Student- Prospective Graduate Student

haeckelb (at) email (dot) arizona (dot) edu
​Brad (he/him) is returning back to academia after working as a paramedic in Emergency Medicine research. He has previously graduated with a B.S. in Biology and B.A. in Psychology. Brad joined Baltrus Lab in October 2019 primarily working with a Pseudomonas derived tailocin, exploring its activities against other microbial species and the genetics behind those mechanisms. Brad currently lives in Tucson with his wife, Sally, and two Great Danes, Aitken and Dotti. Outside of the lab, Brad is a member of the Tucson Cactus & Succulent Society, a volunteer with the American Red Cross, and enjoys music.

Former Lab Members

Caitlin Smith (Research Technician)

Caitlin graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Microbiology. Her work focused on environmental Streptomyces. In 2019 she retired from her role as the Streptomyces overlord and is now pursuing a PhD at the University of Oregon.

Brian A. Smith (PhD Graduate) 

Brian studied the factors that limit conjugation of a large megaplasmid (pMPPla107) across Pseudomonas strains. He graduated with his PhD in fall of 2018. After graduation he worked for 2 years as a postdoc in the Harcombe Lab at the University of Minnesota. He currently works a microbiologist in the United States Army.

Kevin Hockett (Postdoc)

Research Website
Kevin examined genetic basis and evolutionary effects of bacteriocin production across Pseudomonas syringae. He is now an Assistant Professor at Pennsylvania State University.

Pat Lu-Irving (Postdoc)

Research Website
Pat was a joint postdoc between the Dlugosch and Baltrus labs. She studied if and how the microbiome of starthistle differs between its native range (Europe) and where it is invasive (USA)

Justin Shaffer (PhD Graduate)

Justin was a PhD candidate co-advised by Betsy Arnold. He studied the role of endohyphal bacteria on fungal colonization of seeds .
Former Undergraduates
Before 2017: Miguel Acero, Chris Fanger, Autumn Moore
2017: Courtney Leligdon, Sarah Dahm, Jacob Robishaw-Denton, Cali Crisler
2018: Benjamin Nach, Cynthia Bujanda, Ethan Carlson
2019: Mackenzie Derrick, Andrew Moore, Zoe Rosenthal, John Medlen, Ash Rau