Meet the team behind the science! This section highlights our current lab members and their roles, showcasing the brilliant minds driving our research forward
Meet the Germinators!
Principal Investigator
Ernesto Abel-Santos, Ph.D.
Lic., La Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo
Ph.D., Washington University, St. Louis
Post-doc, Pennsylvania State University
Graduate Students
Naomi Okada
Abel-Santos Lab since 2018
Ph.D. Candidate
B.S., University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Research Interests: Chemical and environmental factors that affect Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) progression
Efren Heredia
Abel-Santos Lab since 2022
Ph.D. Student
B.S., University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Research Interests: Characterization of C. difficile anti-germinants
Maria Niamba
Abel-Santos Lab since 2022
Ph.D. Student
B.S., University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Research Interests: Diet effects of C. difficile, Development of gastrointestinal Staphylococcus aureus infection models in mice
Erica Bacab
Abel-Santos Lab since 2023
Ph.D. Student
B.S., Nevada State College
Research Interests: Estrous cycle effects on C. difficile infection
Undergraduate Students
Stephanie Yang
Abel-Santos Lab since 2023
Undergraduate Research Assistant
B.S. Biological Sciences (Pre-Professional) Student (Expected Graduation: 2025)
Research Interests: Protein-protein and protein-drug interactions and their impacts on in vivo cellular pathways (with focus on disease pathogenesis)
Katrina Valadez
Abel-Santos Lab since 2023
Post-Graduate Research Assistant
B.S. Biological Sciences: Concentration in Cell and Molecular Biology
Research Interests: The Intake of a Diet High in Soluble Fiber May Increase the Elimination Rate of the Clostridioides difficile Infection; Targeted Prebiotics; Targeted Bile Salt Analogs – Anti-germination Compounds; Bioinformatic Analysis on the Effects of Diets in Animal Models Infected with C. Diff; Novel DNA Analysis Techniques in Forensic Science
