Principal Investigator

Nikki Shariat, PhD

(she/her/hers)
nikki.shariat at uga.edu

Graduate Students

Emily Cason, MS

(she/her/hers)
PhD candidate
eec32271 at uga.edu

Megan Lee, MS

(she/her/hers)
PhD student
meganmlee at uga.edu

Esther Palmer

(she/her/hers)
PhD candidate
esther.palmer at uga.edu

Amber Richards, MPH

(she/her/hers)
PhD student
amber.richards25 at uga.edu

Carlos David Ayala Velasteguí

(he/him/his)
PhD student
carlos.ayala at uga.edu

Current Undergraduates

Kaya Palukaitis

(she/they)
B.S. Microbiology (& Psychology)
kaya.palukaitis at uga.edu

Dhruv Patel

(he/him/his)
B.S. Microbiology
dmp87132 at uga.edu

J. Daniel Walker

(he/him/his)
B.S. Microbiology
joshua.walker4 at uga.edu

Leighton Whatley

(she/her/hers)
B.S. Microbiology
leighton.whatley at uga.edu

Previous Lab Members

Amy Siceloff (PhD, Microbiology ’25)
Current position: ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow at USDA-ARS

Leigh Codiniera (Undergraduate, Microbiology ‘25)

Connor Norris (Undergraduate, Microbiology ‘24 and MPH ’25)

Abby Laury (Undergraduate, Animal and Dairy Science ‘25)

Jared Smith (PhD, Microbiology ’25)
Current position: Postdoctoral Researcher – Kerry Cooper Laboratory, University of Arizona

Lindsay Pauls (Undergraduate, Biology ‘24)
Current position: Ph.D. student, Clemson University

Sherwin Shirazi (MS, Statistics ’24)
Current position: Associate Research Data Analyst, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Pierce Bagby (Undergraduate, Biology ‘24)
Current position: M.D. student, Medical College of Georgia

Maurice Raccoursier Frost, DVM, MSc, MAM (MAM ’23)
Current position: Clinical Assistant Professor, Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center, University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine

Seth Cranford (Undergraduate, Microbiology ‘25)
Current position: Applied Research Assistant, Pilgrim’s Pride

Megan Crowe (Undergraduate, Microbiology ‘23)
Current position: Ph.D. student, University of Texas at Austin

Renee Smith (Undergraduate, Microbiology ’23)
Current position: M.D. student, Vanderbilt University

Bryan Larsen (MS, Comparative Biomedical Sciences ’23)
Current position: Clinical Laboratory Technician, TriCore Inc.

Tomi Obe, PhD (postdoc)
Current position: Assistant Professor, Poultry Food Safety Microbiology Department of Poultry Science, University of Arkansas

Michael Quist, DVM, MAM (MAM ’21)
Current position: Production Veterinarian, Mountaire Farms

Linnea Tracy, DVM, MPH, MAM (MAM ‘20)
Current position: Director Of Technical Services, Eggland’s Best

Surendra Rasamsetti, DVM (MS, Comparative Biomedical Sciences ’21)
Current position: Veterinary Technician-Microbiology, Cary Animal Care

Paula Rios (Undergraduate, Biology ‘21)
Current position: Microbiologist I, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Abigail Walters (Undergraduate, Applied Biotechnology ‘23)

Mira Vining (Undergraduate, Biology ‘20)

Abigail Deaven (Undergraduate, Gettysburg College, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology ‘21)
Current position: Ph.D. student, Lewis Lab, Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia