PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Alejandra Rodriguez Verdugo
alejanr1@uci.edu
Alejandra is an assistant professor in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Irvine. She received a B.S. degree in Biology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and a Ph.D. degree in Evolutionary Biology at UC Irvine. Alejandra did a four-year postdoc at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH Zürich) in Switzerland and has been at UC Irvine since April 2019. Research areas of interest: Microbial adaptation, Eco-evolutionary dynamics, Experimental evolution.
LABORATORY ASSISTANT
Parmis Abdoli
abdolip@uci.edu
Parmis joined the lab in Fall 2020 through UCI’s Bio199 undergraduate research program. During her undergraduate research, Parmis assembled a synthetic community representative of the leaf litter microbiome from Loma Ridge in Irvine, California. She graduated with honors in Spring 2023. Parmis is currently a laboratory assistant working on understanding the interaction between a fungus and a bacterium from Loma Ridge.
POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS
Thibault Rosazza
trosazza@uci.edu
Thibault is a postdoctoral scholar who joined the lab in October 2023. He is interested on understanding how cross-feeding interactions in different ecological contexts shape bacterial evolution and species diversification. Outside the lab, Thibault enjoys spending time outdoor by exploring nature on his feet or on his bike.
Nitish Malhotra
nitishm2@uci.edu
Nitish is a PhD in Biological Sciences with specialisation in Bioinformatics and Microbial Genome Evolution. He joined the lab as a postdoctoral scholar in June 2024. His interests lie in understanding evolution of microbial communities, specifically how biotic and abiotic components of niche ecology impact evolutionary trajectories. Outside the lab, he likes to spend time with friends, try different cuisines, play racket sports and go on long treks.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Zahraa Al-Tameemi
altameez@uci.edu
Zahraa is a third-year PhD candidate who joined the lab in Fall 2021. Zahraa earned a BS in Integrative Biology from Michigan State University and is interested in studying the evolution of microbial interactions using synthetic microbial communities.
Emmanuel Cordero Martínez
ecorder2@uci.edu
Emmanuel is an exchange first-year PhD student from The Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (Cinvestav) in Mexico. He is joining for three months to work on microbial communities from Cuatro Ciénegas and studying how they evolve under antibiotic stress.
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Miriam Lepiz
lepizm@uci.edu
Miriam is a biology student and an MSP student that joined the lab in Spring 2022 through UCI’s Bio 199 program. Miriam is currently a lab student assistant working with the synthetic community representative of the leaf litter microbiome from Loma Ridge in Irvine, California.
Ashton Craven
aecraven@uci.edu
Ashton is a Biological Sciences and Dance double major who joined the lab in Winter 2023 through UCI’s Bio199 undergraduate research program. Ashton is generally interested in evolutionary biology, and has been gaining curiosity for microbial interactions through her assistance with Zahraa’s studies of synthetic microbial communities.
Marco Brunyer
mbrunyer@uci.edu
Marco is an Ecology and Evolutionary Biology student who began working in the lab during Winter 2023. Marco is interested in the ecology and evolution of organisms in response to factors in their environment.
FORMER LAB MEMBERS
Gabriela Martinez (Bio199 student) – Summer 2021 to Fall 2023
Autumn Henderson (PhD student) – Fall 2020 to Fall 2023
Ecaterina Serenco (Bio199 student) – Spring 2022
Thao Dinh (Bio199 student) – Fall 2020
Melissa Martens (Bio199 student, lab assistant) – Winter to Fall 2020
Zoran Marinkovic (postdoc) – August 2019 to July 2020.
Derek Tang (lab assistant) – June – September 2019
We are looking for talented scientists to join the lab. If you are interested, please send me a letter of inquiry to alejanr1@uci.edu along with your CV with the subject line “MicroEvoEco inquiry”.
The Rodriguez-Verdugo lab @ UCI promotes diversity and inclusivity.