Principal Investigator
Asst. Professor Matt Doremus (he/him)
Matt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He teaches Physiology (IB 202) and General Entomology (IB 401). He studies how intracellular bacteria modify arthropod biology and how environmental variation influences these arthropod-microbe interactions. He received his PhD from the University of Arizona, where he studied symbioses between Encarsia parasitoid wasps and the manipulative symbiont Cardinium. He’s a life long fan of the Buffalo Bills and loves watching bad horror movies (especially bug-themed ones).
Graduate Students
Ember Clodfelter (they/he)
I am a PhD Candidate co-advised by Dr. Kevin Johnson and Dr. Matt Doremus. My master’s research focused on the Wolbachia found in the genus of feather feeding lice Penenirmus, which are suspected to be nutritional mutualists. My PhD research has expanded this to a broader diversity of lice and endosymbionts and covers most of the louse superfamily Philopteroidea. I did not expect to enjoy working with lice or endosymbionts as much as I have, but I love how much there is still to discover in this system.
Thea Bliss (She/her)
Thea is a first year MS student interested in characterizing the timing and localization of Rickettsiella-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) in Mermessus fradeorum. She aims to use fluorescent microscopy to learn more about how Rickettsiella CI kills uninfected spiders and how Rickettsiella localizes in male spider reproductive tissues. She also assists with culturing spiders and screening for endosymbionts using molecular techniques. In her free time she enjoys trying new food spots and volleyball!
Emily Cook (She/her)
I am a first year MS student interested in understanding how environmental change shapes the relationship between arthropods and their endosymbionts. I’ll be investigating the influence of temperature stress on Mermessus fradeorum and their heritable symbionts.
Undergraduates
Aidan Meier
Sophomore, Integrative Biology
Ryan Orozco
Senior, Integrative Biology Honors
Arend Vischer
Senior, Molecular Cellular Biology