People

Dr. Kevin D. Kohl - Principal Investigator

Dr. Kohl is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

Curriculum Vitae - Updated March 18th, 2020
Dr. Kohl's GoogleScholar Page

Dr. Mauna Dasari - Postdoctoral Researcher

Mauna is a microbial ecologist interested in the complex evolutionary and ecological relationships between hosts and their microbiomes. Her research focuses on how the microbiomes in a host’s gut change in response to the host’s environment, as well as how these changes in the gut microbiome may impact the host’s growth, development, and ultimately fitness. In her dissertation, Mauna leveraged longitudinal data from a wild population of yellow baboons followed by the Amboseli Baboon Research Project. She demonstrated that the gut microbiome exhibits predictable changes with age, and that these changes were predictive of important host developmental events. As a postdoc in the Kohl lab, Mauna will be examining how inter- and intraspecies dynamics affect how the tadpole gut microbiome responds to changing environments.

Dr. Nick Barts - Postdoctoral Researcher

Nick is broadly interested in how ecological and evolutionary processes interact to shape the physiological and behavioral phenotypes of animals. Nick's research incorporates genomic, biochemical, and organismal biology techniques to understand how selection acting within and among populations shapes phenotypic evolution. For their dissertation, Nick explored the predictability of evolution and the functional consequences of genetic variation in livebearing fishes inhabiting toxic hydrogen sulfide-rich habitats. They found that while we may be able to predict the targets of selection in extreme environments, the outcomes of that underlying variation may not be as predictable. As a postdoc in the Kohl lab, Nick will be investigating how the interactions between hosts and their microbiomes shape physiological performance in rodents.

Samantha Fontaine - Graduate Student

Sam's research interests include host-microbe interactions, disease ecology, conservation biology, and herpetology. She is specifically interested in how environmental factors and anthropogenic stressors can affect the relationship between ectothermic hosts and their associated microbes, ultimately impacting animal physiology, ecology, and evolution. In the Kohl lab, Sam is studying the impact of temperature on amphibian gut microbiota, and the resulting functional effects on animal performance, which will be important in predicting animal responses to climate change. As an undergraduate at SUNY Oneonta, she studied disease dynamics in green frogs and wood turtles of upstate New York. Before beginning her graduate studies at Pitt, Sam was lucky enough to work on conservation projects involving threatened and endangered species such as eastern box turtles, Wyoming toads, and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles.

Elizabeth Rudzki - Graduate Student

Elizabeth’s research interests encompass host-pathogen interactions, microbiology, immunology, and developmental biology. Elizabeth is using a diversity of study systems to understand the relative contributions of genetics and the environment in structuring the composition of the gut microbiome, especially in early life. Prior to graduate school, Elizabeth worked as a research specialist at the University of Pittsburgh in Dr. Jon Boyle’s lab, studying Toxoplasma gondii and how it crosses the placental barrier during congenital infection. As an undergraduate at Edinboro University, Elizabeth researched the presence of angiogenic inhibitors in the hemolymph of corn furrow spiders, as well as assisted in a large-scale study of big game migration in Botswana.

Karen Peralta Martínez - Graduate Student

Karen is interested in host-microbe interactions, microbiology, genetics, and cellular biology. In the lab, Karen is studying how, under different diet strategies, the activity of the gut microbiota aids hosts with rapid physiological adaptations. She is excited to explore this question using a combination of metagenomics, cellular and molecular techniques. Before moving to Pitt, she worked as a laboratory technician under the mentorship of Dr. Clement Chow in the department of Human Genetics at the University of Utah. A central research focus of her job was to identify the impact of genetic variation on the outcome of N-Glycanase 1 (NGLY1) deficiency, a rare, autosomal recessive disease. As an undergraduate at Bucknell University, she studied chloroplast relocation in ferns grown in the dark and supplemented with cytokinin.

Cory Duckworth - Graduate Student

Cory is broadly interested in microbial ecology, host-microbe interactions, herpetology, and conservation. More specifically, Cory is interested in investigating the complex interplay between environmental and host-associated microbial communities in herpetofauna, especially under anthropogenic changes. In the Kohl Lab, Cory is studying how land-use and geographic distance shape pond microbial communities and how this variation may impact tadpole microbiome assembly and, ultimately, host health and performance. As an undergraduate at the University of North Georgia, Cory’s research focused on reptile diversity and distribution in North Georgia with a dovetailing project investigating the prevalence of snake fungal disease in the southern Appalachian Mountains.

José Goyco-Blas - Research Technician

José has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science with an emphasis in Environmental Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico in Aguadilla. He also earned a master’s degree from the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, where he specialized in Environmental Law and Regulation. He is interested in how environmental effects can impact a species, changed its microbiome and physiological components. His most recent experience was working as a field and laboratory technician in CECIA Department at the InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico. His focus was the identification of E. coli, Giardia and Salmonella in the NON-PRASA water systems in Patillas, Puerto Rico and offering seminars to the community. Jose also worked in diverse research within the fields of ecology, biology, and chemistry.