Current Graduate Students & Fellows

Ozan Kumru
B.S. in Microbiology, Kansas State University
Mentor: Wolfram Zückert, Ph.D.

Research:

Kristina Ollison
B.S. in Biology, College of the Ozarks
Mentor: Wolfram Zückert, Ph.D.

Research: I am studying components of the lipoprotein export pathway in the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. At least some of the proteins in this pathway are essential. I am currently refining genetic tools that will allow us to generate conditional mutants of the respective genes.

Kyung-Tae Park
B.S., Seoul National University
M.S., University of Texas Medical Branch
Mentor: Joe Lutkenhaus, Ph.D.

Research: MinD-MinE interaction

Ryan Schulze
B.S. in Microbiology, University of Kansas
Mentor: Wolfram Zückert, Ph.D.

Research: The goal of my research is to further characterize the mechanism of lipoprotein processing and sorting in the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. Lipoproteins are abundantly present at the host-pathogen interface, i.e. displayed on the bacterial surface, and essential to the pathogenesis of this organism. A clearer understanding of lipoprotein trafficking to the bacterial surface will yield important insights into the molecular basis of Borrelia infections.

Laurie Shannon
B.S. in Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas
Mentor: Charlotte Vines, Ph.D.

Research:

Bang Shen
B.S. in Biological Sciences, Wuhan University, China
Mentor: Joe Lutkenhaus, Ph.D.

Research:

Christina Hester
B.S. in Biology, University of Dayton
Ph.D. in Microbiology, KUMC
Lutkenhaus Lab

Research: My research focuses on proteins from the ParA family of Walker-type ATPases. Proteins in this family are mainly involved in plasmid and chromosome partitioning. My primary interest is in characterizing the role of the ATPase of ParA family members in plasmid and chromosome segregation. Using biochemical methods, I study the functions of these proteins in vitro, and I use in vivo methods to study the relevant activities of these proteins in bacterial cells.

Shiyong Chen
Ph.D., Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zückert Lab

Research: Lipoprotein secretion in Borrelia burgdorferi

Wuxiang Guan
Ph.D.
Qiu Lab

Sebastien Pichoff
Senior Research Associate
Ph.D., Paul Sabatier University (Toulouse, France), 1997
Lutkenhaus Lab

Research: I am interested in the early step of the cytokinesis in bacteria (Escherichia coli). I am studying the FtsZ ring formation and the involvement of two other cell division proteins FtsA and ZipA in this process.

Min Kyoung You
Ph.D., Korea University
Zückert Lab

Research: Protein transport in Borrelia burgdorferi