Lab Alums

Corey Witt, BS 2026. Corey did undergrad research in the Ottemann Lab, and is now in a postbac at the NIH 

Alex Solov, MS 2025. Alex completed a MS degree in the 4+1 program. His thesis on H. pylori aggregation turned into a 2026 publication. He is a research assistant at Michigan State University.

Nataly Torres-Mejia, MS 2025.  Nataly was a 4+1 MS student in the Ottemann Lab, stuing .the H. pylori lactate transcriptional response, with a publication soon to be submitted. She has started a Ph.D. at UCD. 

Dr. Xiaolin Liu. Visiting Ph.D. Student and Postdoc, 2019-2024. Xiaolin identified that the PilO protein, indentified first in Sagoo et al. 2023, formed part of the flagellar cage and furthermore that the cage was required to fine tune the motility and biofilm response of H. pylori. Xiaolin is now an Associate Professor at Guangxi Univ. in China.  https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Xiaolin-Liu-4

Raymond Lopez-Magaña, PhD 2024. Raymond studied the TlpD chemoreceptor, completing a disseration and a manuscript on TlpD truncation mutants. Raymond is now working at the USDA in Albany, CA. Raymond's Linked In page is here. 

Christina Yang, PhD 2022. Postdoc 2022-2023. Christina studied bacterial population dynamics and the relation to the TlpB chemoreceptor and AI-2. Look for her work to be published soon. Christina has embarked on a career focussed on teaching at San Jose City College as an Asst. Prof. Christina's Linked In Page is here.

Aaron Clarke, PhD 2023. Aaron studied how proton pump inhibitors affect H. pylori in vivo, finding surprising effects on bacterial populations. Look for his work to be published soon. Aaron now works as a postdoc at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. Aaron's Linked In page is here. 

Shuai Hu, PhD 2022. Postdoc 2022-23. Shuai studied how lactate benefits H. pylori, making the exciting discovery that it promotes H. pylori to adopt a new physiological state. Shuai published part of this thesis work in Hu and Ottemann, 2023. Shuai now works as postdoc at the Dana Farber Cancer  Institute in Boston with Dr. Jean Zhao. 

Arturo Valdez, BS 2022

Oscar Lopez Figueroa, BS 2022

Frida Salgado, MS 2021:  Currently in MPH program

Cande Bernal, MS 2021: Currently employed in student health

Skander Hathroubi, Ph.D.  Postdoc 2016-2019. 

Skander brought the love of H. pylori biofilms to the Ottemann lab. You can read about his findings in his four publications so far. He's now leading anti-biofilm efforts at Spartha Medical in Strasbourg, France. Follow Skander at his Web Page or Linked In. 

Francesca Batac, M.S. 2018

Francesca completed her MS in collaboration with Melissa Miller, DVM, and returned to her work for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife as a Environmental Scientist/Sea Otter Biologist.  You can read Francesca's work in Frontiers in Marine Science here, and follow her at Linked In 

Jashwin BS. 2019 but now back as a PhD student

Julia Zerebinski, B.S. 2018

Daniela Keilberg, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Scholar 2013-2017. Daniela brought her love of bacterial signaling from Lotte Sogaard-Andersen's lab at the Max Planck, Germany. She developed the super cool gland bacterial population quantification technique amongst other work in her four publications. She's been in several scientist roles in the SF Bay Area.

Kieran Collins, Ph.D. 2017. Kieran completed his PhD in 2017, and then completed to postdoc work at Stanford University. Follow Kieran at Linked In.