Meet the Team!
Jesús A. Romo, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Training and Education
Postdoctoral Training - Tufts University School of Medicine PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology (Microbiology and Immunology track) - The University of Texas at San Antonio Master's in Biology - The University of Texas at San Antonio |
Paola Zucchi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Research
Training and Education
Postdoctoral Training - Dartmouth Medical School PhD in Molecular Microbiology - Tufts University School of Medicine Bachelor's of Arts - University of California Berkeley |
Doctoral Students
Megan Medrano, M.S.
Third Year Doctoral Candidate
Research focus: Defining host immune responses during gastrointestinal tranksingdom infections
Training and Education
Master’s in Biology (concentration in Microbiology and Immunology)- The University of Texas at San Antonio Bachelor’s of Science in Biology with minor in Mathematics and Chemistry- St. Mary’s University San Antonio Megan is a third year Doctoral student in the UTSA MMI program. She loves spending time with her dog (Chiquis) and her five sisters. She also enjoys swimming, reading, gardening, and making cards in her spare time. Megan was lucky enough to get tickets to see Taylor Swift recently!! 
Caden Munson
First Year PhD Rotation Student
Research focus: Drug repositioning targeted at C. difficile biofilms
Training and Education
Bachelors of Science in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases - The University of Texas at Austin Caden is a first year Ph.D. student in the Molecular Microbiology and Immunology program. He enjoys working out at 6 AM, listening to French music, and watching college football with a focus on the Longhorns. |
Kendall Esparrago
First Year PhD student
Research focus: Characterizing the molecular mechanism of action of a small molecule inhibitor of C. albicans filamentation and biofilm formation
Training and Education
Bachelor's in Microbiology and Immunology - The University of Texas at San Antonio Kendall is a first year PhD student in the Molecular Microbiology and Immunology program. He enjoys biking, reading, and nature walks. He prefers coffee over tea, but will drink both if he needs the caffeine boost. Although he may not mention it, he is a huge Star Wars geek. |
Undergraduate Researchers
Elizabeth Negron
UTSA College of Science Honors, Honors College, and MARC Scholar
Training and Education
Roosevelt High School Elizabeth is an undergraduate freshman majoring in microbiology/immunology. She enjoys drawing and baking during her free time. She also plays tennis whenever she can at the UTSA tennis courts. Elizabeth will deny she's a coffee addict; she claims to only "enjoy it a lot." 
Karyme Lozano
Training and Education
Los Fresnos High School (Los Fresnos, TX) Karyme is a fourth-year undergraduate majoring in biology who is passionate about bees! In her free time, she loves spending time with friends and trying new restaurants. She also has a very spoiled cat who she adores immensely! |
Katelyn N. Ward
UTSA College of Science Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP), and Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) trainee
Training and Education
Duelles High School, Sugar Land, TX Katelyn is an undergraduate majoring in molecular microbiology and immunology with a minor in chemistry. She enjoys cooking, baking, writing poetry, and visiting museums. She loves spicy food, but chocolate and coffee are too strong! |
Past members
Alvaro Ortola Tortosa, M.S.
Defended Master's Thesis entitled "Characterization of Genomic differences between Nakaseomyces glabrata strains using a bioinformatics pipeline" summer 2024
Defended Master's Thesis entitled "Characterization of Genomic differences between Nakaseomyces glabrata strains using a bioinformatics pipeline" summer 2024
Paige Juneau
(UTSA College of Science undergraduate majoring in microbiology and immunology)
(UTSA College of Science undergraduate majoring in microbiology and immunology)
Alec Solis
(UTSA College of Science Honors and Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) Scholar)
Spring 2023-Spring 2024
Currently a PhD Student at MD Anderson Cancer Center
(UTSA College of Science Honors and Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) Scholar)
Spring 2023-Spring 2024
Currently a PhD Student at MD Anderson Cancer Center
Mary Smith, M.S.
(Rotation student) Fall 2023-Spring 2024
Currently a PhD student in the Seshu lab at UTSA
(Rotation student) Fall 2023-Spring 2024
Currently a PhD student in the Seshu lab at UTSA
Irvin Rivera, M.S.
(Rotation student) Spring 2023
Currently a PhD candidate in the Eppinger lab at UTSA
(Rotation student) Spring 2023
Currently a PhD candidate in the Eppinger lab at UTSA
Nawal Abdul-Baki, M.S.
(Rotation student) Fall 2022-Spring 2023
Currently a PhD candidate in the Hung lab at UTSA
(Rotation student) Fall 2022-Spring 2023
Currently a PhD candidate in the Hung lab at UTSA
Armando Mendez, M.S., CPH
(Rotation student) Fall 2022-Spring 2023
Currently a PhD candidate in the Diako lab at Texas Biomed
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Contact me for available positions!
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