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| Postdoctoral researchers
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Haitao Shang |
| Haitao is a postdoctoral researcher in the Louca Lab. He obtained a Ph.D. in Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2021. Haitao is broadly interested in the co-evolution of life and the environment with particular emphasis on answering how the evolution of microorganisms has contributed to shaping the surface environments of Earth and exoplanets. In the Louca Lab, he is working on the evolution of microbial metabolic pathways and modeling Earth's biogeochemistry over macroevolutionary timescales. |
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Sophia Lambert |
| Sophia obtained a Ph.D. in Evolutionary Sciences at the Institute of Biology of École Normale Supérieure and the National Museum of Natural History (Paris) in 2022. Her past work focused on developing diversification models adapted to microbial datasets, fast inference techniques using deep learning and applying them to large reconstructed microbial phylogenies. She is broadly interested in the ecological and metabolic strategies of prokaryotes and micro-eukaryotes and how these have shaped their evolution. In the Louca lab, her project aims at understanding ocean prokaryotes evolution with a special interest on their mode of speciation using genomic data. |
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| Graduate students
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Hengameh Habibi Soufi |
| Hengameh graduated with a B.Sc. in Cellular and Mollecular Biology in 2017, where she worked on culturing and isolation of Thaumarchaeota samples from deep strata of Caspian Sea. Hengameh is now on a track to combine her wetlab knowledge with bioinformatic tools to understand microbial life. |
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Maria (Masha) Korchagina |
| Masha graduated with a B.A. in Physical Anthropology and a minor in Molecular Biology from New York University in 2013. As an undergrad researcher, she used molecular techniques to study primate phylogenetics as well as microbial community ecology in urban environments. For her PhD, Masha is using bioinformatics to investigate the coevolution and diversification of prokaryotic genes and genomes. |
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Robert Porch |
| Rob graduated from Rutgers University in 2020 with a B.S. in Ecology and Evolution and a minor in Statistics. During his 2019 summer REU, Rob worked in Britt Koskella's lab at UC Berkeley, where he discovered his interest in microbial ecology. For his PhD, Rob is using bioinformatics and phylogenetics to develop software to infer metabolic functional traits from prokaryotic taxa. Outside of academics, Rob enjoys making music, running, and video games. |
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| Undergraduate researchers
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Ananya Chowdhury |
| Ananya is a junior at the University of Oregon majoring in biology with minors in biochemistry and science communication. Her research focuses on the molecular basis of aging, specifically how biological sex and chemical interventions influence aging in male C. elegans. Her primary interests include epigenetics, evolution, molecular biology, and protein function. She is excited to join the FAPROTAX2 project to expand her knowledge of bacterial species and their ecologically relevant functions. |
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Avery Smith |
| Avery is a third-year Biology major with a minor in Anthropology. Avery is interested in exploring evolution, ecology, genetics, nutrition, and immunology. She is excited to be helping with the FAPROTAX project in the Louca Lab to improve scientific knowledge on bacterial and archaeal species. |
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Elizabeth Simpson |
| Elizabeth is a freshman marine biology major in the CHC. Their academic interests include marine bird and mammal conservation, field ecology, intertidal zones, reef, kelp, and fish ecology and conservation, and working as an aquarist. In their free time they enjoy scuba diving in Hoodsport Washington, baking, doing art, and hanging out with friends. |
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Jade Peairson |
| Jade is a first year Marine Biology major in the Clark Honors College. Her academic interests are mainly in biology, specifically reefs, sharks, and ocean conservation, and she hopes to one day become a professor of Marine Biology. Her favorite activities outside of academics include professional mermaiding, SCUBA diving, backpacking, and competitive open water swimming. |
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Jared Schnider |
| Jared is a third-year biology major, with minors in chemistry and global service. He is mainly interested in cellular mechanisms and genetics, as well as learning more about how he can use knowledge gained from these areas to better understand their interface with other areas of biology. Outside of academics he enjoys working out, being outdoors, and reading. |
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Liam Versteeg |
| Liam is a 3rd-year biology major with an anthropology minor in the Clark Honors College. He is especially interested in primate ecology, evolutionary mechanisms, and animal behavior, and hopes to one day have a career in either wildlife management or conservation research. In the Louca Lab, he is currently working on data collection for the FAPROTAX project. |
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Mason Roy-Hart |
| Mason is a third-year student pursuing a double major in Biology and Neuroscience. He is interested in studying mechanisms and spread of infectious diseases, the processes of the immune system, and the ecology of the gut microbiome. He is excited to help out with the FAPROTAX2 project, in order to learn as much as possible about the diversity of prokaryotic life. Outside of academics, he enjoys spending as much time outdoors as possible and exploring new places. |
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| Alumni
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William Andrews (undergraduate researcher, 2023)
Mark Williams (undergraduate researcher, 2023)
Ben Carr (undergraduate researcher, 2023)
Joseph Abrams (undergraduate researcher, 2023)
Tommy Taylor (undergraduate researcher, 2022-2024)
Lauren Grover (undergraduate researcher, 2023-2024)
Oliver Loreto (undergraduate researcher, 2022-2023)
Katherine Qi (undergraduate researcher, 2022-2023)
Jake Hoskins (undergraduate researcher, 2022-2023)
Loie Bonnet (undergraduate researcher, 2022)
Jordan Rodriguez (PhD rotation, 2022)
Vicente Ibarra (undergraduate researcher, 2022)
Daniel Tran (undergraduate researcher, 2022)
Narda Jimena Trivino (PhD rotation, 2021)
Leila Jones (undergraduate researcher, 2021)
Nathan Malamud (undergraduate researcher, 2021)
Callum Kuo (undergraduate researcher, 2020)
Jacob Ryan (undergraduate researcher, 2020)
Alexandria Montgomery (undergraduate researcher, 2020)
Sage Albright (undergraduate researcher, honors thesis in Louca lab, 2020)
Thorin Haussecker (undergraduate researcher, 2020)
Gabriel Pedersen (undergraduate researcher, 2020)
Allen Williamson (undergraduate researcher, 2020)
Claire Lewis (undergraduate researcher, 2020)
Caitlin Smith (PhD rotation, 2020)
Rachel Lisle (undergraduate researcher, 2020)
David Hugel (undergraduate researcher, 2020)
Daniel Sullivan (undergraduate researcher, 2020)
James Carr (undergraduate researcher, 2019)
Crysta Winter (undergraduate researcher, 2019)
Marissa Gutierrez (undergraduate researcher, 2019)
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| Lab photos
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Louca lab. Department of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA
© 2025 Stilianos Louca all rights reserved
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