Dr. Erica Marie Hartmann began her research career at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she worked as on mass spectrometry-based methods for detecting microbial enzymes necessary for bioremediation. From Hopkins, she moved to Arizona State University where she was the first graduate of the interdisciplinary Biological Design PhD program. Following her graduation, she was awarded a Fulbright to study microbes that degrade the toxic, carcinogenic pollutants known as dioxins in France at the Commission for Atomic Energy. She began leading studies on the effects of antimicrobial chemicals on the microbes found in indoor dust at the Biology and the Built Environment Center at the University of Oregon and is currently continuing that work as an associate professor at Northwestern. You can contact her via Twitter or Instagram.
Dr. Weitao Shuai is a Research Associate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University. She is interested in environmental microbiology, especially how microorganisms interact with pollutants and nutrients as well as natural systems. Previously, Weitao worked on anaerobic ammonium oxidation coupled to iron reduction (Feammox) in constructed wetlands and microbial electrolysis cells during her Ph.D. study at Princeton University, where she graduated in January 2021.
Postdocs
Dr. Oliyad Jeilu is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northwestern University. His previous research experience focused on tapping the diversity and biotechnological potential of environmental microbes, particularly in extreme environments, through metagenomic approaches. Oliyad is interested in continuing to employ meta-omics approaches to explore the structural and functional diversity of microbes, including in built and extreme environments (i.e., oceans, hot springs, and soda lakes).
Graduate Students
Stefanie Huttelmaier is a PhD student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering working under the guidance of both the Hartmann and Wells Labs. She received her B.A. in Biology and Environmental Science at Carthage College in 2018. Her research interests revolve around the potential to manipulate microbial communities in engineered systems to mitigate environmental impacts of human activity. She is currently exploring the use of bacteriophage as process control for nutrient removal systems in wastewater treatment and the potential applications of wastewater-based epidemiology as an early detection method for the outbreak of infectious disease.
Jack Thomas Sumner is a curiosity-driven scientist who seeks to understand biological systems from a holistic perspective. During his undergraduate career, he researched rapid genome evolution and studied molecular and cellular biology at California Polytechnic State University. Jack is currently a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Biological Science Program at Northwestern University. He aims to distill factors that drive biological innovation in human microbiomes by first exploring their structure, function, and dynamics with integrative multi-omics.
Anahid Amani Moghadam is a PhD student in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. She received a bachelor’s in microbiology in 2016 and a master’s in microbial biotechnology in 2019, both from University of Tehran. During her bachelor’s, she worked with extremophile bacteria. Her master’s project was on microbial bioremediation of agricultural pesticides. As well as learning new wet lab skills, she is working on dry lab skills and learning how to be a bioinformatician. She is interested in trying new projects in different areas, even though they might be challenging at first, because that’s how we find what we truly are passionate about.
Shelby Tillema is a PhD student and NSF Graduate Research Fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northwestern University. She received her B.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2021. Shelby is interested in how occupant health is affected by perturbations in indoor environmental quality, such as from emerging contaminants and natural disasters. She works to mitigate the resulting harmful effects through engineered solutions, community engagement, and scientific communication. For fun, Shelby likes to travel, make pottery, play video and tabletop games, and find new restaurants and bookstores in Chicago.
Cole Wilson is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences program. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at Kansas State University where he researched enzymes directing plant lipid metabolism, followed by Fulbright-sponsored year at Forschungszentrum Juelich in Germany studying patterning and modulation of in-vitro neuronal networks. He is interested in phage biology and engineering geared towards the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections, and more broadly in the interface between complex biological and synthetic systems.
Undergraduates
Shayan Malik is currently studying biology and Spanish on the pre-medical track. She is excited to explore the mechanisms of microbes and antibiotic resistance alongside members of the Hartmann lab. As a pre-medical student, Shayan is interested in investigating the impact of antibiotic resistance on treatment of bacterial infections and diseases. Originally from the Chicago suburbs, she also enjoys running, hiking, and trying new recipes!