Kerri Coon CV
Assistant Professor
I obtained a B.Sc. in Biology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA, and a Ph.D. in Entomology at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. I did my Ph.D. training with Dr. Michael Strand studying the microbial regulation of molting in mosquitoes, and subsequently worked on insect gut microbiota-immune system interactions in Dr. Nancy Moran’s laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin. I joined the faculty in the Department of Entomology at UW-Madison in 2019 and transferred to the Department of Bacteriology in 2020. I can serve as the major advisor for graduate students from Microbiology, Entomology, and Genetics. I am also affiliated with the Biotechnology, Parasitology & Vector Biology, and Microbes in Health and Disease Training Programs at UW-Madison.
Office: 3552 Microbial Sciences Building
Phone: (608) 262-6919
email: kerri.coon@wisc.edu
Heidi McKee
PhD. Student, Microbiology
Broadly I am interested in host-microbe interactions and the regulation of microbial community function. I am particularly motivated to continue work in the lab that explores the symbiosis of microbes with the pitcher plant mosquito (Wyeomyia smithii) in the Sarracenia-Wyeomyia smithii system. Specifically, I am exploring how microbial and host metabolism are intertwined to impact host phenotype and survival through diapause.
Office: 3541 Microbial Sciences Building
email: hmckee3@wisc.edu
Nolan Amon
Ph.D. Candidate, Entomology
I am a third year Ph.D. student in the Coon Lab, and my research focuses on microbial community ecology and the myriad ways in which microbes manipulate insect behavior. Currently, I am studying how microbial volatiles from cattle influence fly behavior, microbial community assembly, and their impacts on the transmission of diseases on dairy farms in Wisconsin.
Office: 3541 Microbial Sciences Building
email: namon@wisc.edu
Travis Worley
Ph.D. Student, Microbiology
I am broadly interested in the molecular genetics and physiology of host-microbe interactions. In the Coon lab, I study the vector biology of flies in the family Muscidae and the mechanisms underlying the ability of bacterial pathogens to colonize and persist in the fly gut.
Office: 3526 Microbial Sciences Building
email: tworley2@wisc.edu
Julia Kettner
Master’s Student, Bacteriology
I am researching the impact of organic and non-organic mastitis treatment practices on the propensity of muscid flies to harbor pathogenic bacteria on dairy farms, as well as the distribution of antimicrobial resistance within these flies. Additionally, I am investigating the adhesion and invasion of clinical isolates from flies on bovine mammary epithelial cells, along with the host immune response.
Office: 3541 Microbial Sciences Building
email: jekettner@wisc.edu
Holly Nichols
Ph.D. Candidate, Microbiology
I am interested in how microscopic and macroscopic organisms coexist and shape each other’s evolutionary trajectory. I study how bacteria adapt to the transient environment of the mosquito gut and consider how host and bacterial genetics shape the interaction.
Office: 3541 Microbial Sciences Building
email: hlnichols@wisc.edu
Undergraduate Researchers
Hailey Sieren
(Microbiology)
Sawyer Dettlaff
(Microbiology)
Robyn Patterson
(Genetics)
Yasmin Ali
(Public Health)
Jelena Lee
(Microbiology, Nutritional Science)
Lab Alumni
Aldo Arellano (PhD Student)
Andrew Sommer (PhD Student)
Miguel Medina Muñoz (Postdoctoral Researcher)
Journey Prack (Undergraduate Student)
Jordan Petrick (Undergraduate Student)
Julia Kashuk (Undergraduate Student)
Jessica Lysne (Undergraduate Student; PREP Scholar)
Sebastián Díaz (Visiting Scholar; Postdoctoral Researcher)
Jordan Carter (REU Student)
Serena Zhao (PhD Student)
Alexandra Beckman (Undergraduate Student)
Mike LeClaire (Undergraduate Student)
Jake DeWitte (Undergraduate Student)
Tomi Akin-Olabiyi (NSF REU Student)
Daisy Chew (Undergraduate Student)
Molly Sneller (Undergraduate Student)
Lalita Arzumanyan (Undergraduate Student)