Postdoc and Student Spotlight

Our undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers play an enormous role in the transition to a sustainable, resilient, and affordable energy future that is centered on social and economic equality. From lab experiments to field work to classrooms, these leaders of today and tomorrow are our catalysts for energy discovery. In this series, we learn more about what inspired these talented researchers, what brought them to their field of study, and the questions that drive their work at the Wisconsin Energy Institute.

  • Undergraduate Spotlight: Grace Gooley

    Grace Gooley is a senior at the University of Wisconsin–Madison majoring in chemistry and environmental studies. She’s working on her senior thesis in the Ive Hermans lab, where research focuses on the sustainable synthesis of chemicals using catalysts with the goal of producing commercial compounds in ways that generate less waste, consume less energy, or emit less greenhouse gases than existing techniques.

  • Undergraduate Spotlight: Lizza Korolev

    Junior biology major Lizza Korolev is an undergraduate research assistant in the Sato lab, where she studies yeast with the goal of developing strains that can ferment sugars in switchgrass into sustainable biofuels.

  • Postdoc Spotlight: John Crandall

    In this series, we learn more about what inspired our talented graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, what brought them to their field of study, and the questions that drive their work as part of the Wisconsin Energy Institute and Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. Today, we talked to John Crandall, a postdoctoral research associate in the Hittinger Lab. As a yeast geneticist, baker, and brewer, Crandall works with yeast both in and outside of the lab. 

  • Postdoc spotlight: Harrison Moon

    From early childhood, Harrison Moon was fascinated by the natural world, and this fascination eventually steered him towards a career in plant pathology. Currently, he is a postdoctoral researcher in the Hittinger Lab at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. 

  • Graduate Student Spotlight: Madeline Hayes

    Madeline Hayes is a fifth-year graduate student in the Microbiology Doctoral Training Program (MDTP) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a member of the Venturelli Lab, where she studies microbial communities and how humans can leverage those systems to turn leftover plant materials into valuable chemicals. 

  • Postdoc Spotlight: Parisa Sazaeim

    In today’s story, we spoke with Parisa Sazaeim, a postdoctoral research associate at the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Before she arrived in Madison, Sazaeim’s education in water resources engineering took her from her hometown University of Tehran to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Read on to learn about how growing up in an arid region shaped her passion for water and water accessibility.

  • Postdoc Spotlight: Linda Horianopoulos

    Linda Horianopoulos, a postdoctoral researcher who studies the metabolic diversity of yeasts in the Hittinger Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was born and raised in the small town of Kitimat, British Columbia. Read on to learn how an early interest in math and science led her to study at one of the top universities in Canada before eventually heading south for Madison.

  • Postdoc Spotlight: Daniel Parrell

    Today we spoke with Daniel Parrell, a postdoctoral research associate in the Wright Lab working with cryo-electron microscopy and cryo-electron tomography. He received his undergraduate degree in microbiology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and his PhD in microbiology and molecular genetics at Michigan State University (MSU). He provides insight on his work and what it’s like to be a postdoctoral researcher.

  • Postdoc Spotlight: Blaise Manga Enuh

    Today we spoke with Blaise Manga Enuh, a postdoc in the Noguera Lab studying microbial genomics and systems biology. He got his Ph.D in biotechnology and biosafety at Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi in Turkey. He provides insight on the importance of his research, the role it plays in achieving the goals of the GLBRC, and what inspires his work.

  • Graduate Student Spotlight: Daven Khana

    Today we spoke to Daven Khana, a Ph.D. candidate in the DAN Lab led by Daniel Amador-Noguez at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Daven obtained his bachelor's in microbiology and genetics at the University of Georgia. Currently, he studies metabolism and bioenergy.

  • Graduate Student Spotlight: Clare Dietz

    Clare Dietz is a Ph.D. student in the Jackson Lab at UW–Madison, where she studies soil carbon and agricultural systems. She tells us about her research, background and the importance of storytelling in science.

  • Postdoctoral Researcher Spotlight: Jaime Garibay Rodriguez

    Jaime Garibay Rodriguez is a postdoc in the Morgan Edwards' Climate Action Lab studying sustainable energy transition systems. He got his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Instituto Tecnológico de Celaya, Mexico. He provides insight on the importance of mentors and interdisciplinary collaboration.

  • Graduate Student Spotlight: Ciaran Gallagher

    Ciaran Gallagher is a graduate researcher in the Holloway lab studying air quality models. Ciaran studied environmental chemistry at Wellesley, but has since used her analytical skills outside of the laboratory to assess science policy and environmental justice.

  • Undergraduate Student Spotlight: Megan Mader

    We spoke with Megan Mader, an undergraduate student in Trey Sato's lab at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, to talk about what led to her interest in climate change, her research on modifying yeast to sustainably produce biofuels, and the value of collaboration in research.

  • Graduate Student Spotlight: Amy Enright

    This week we spoke with Amy Enright, a graduate student in Jason Peters' lab at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, to talk about why she came to UW-Madison, her research on the microbe Zymomonas mobilis, and her advice for interested graduate students.

  • Postdoctoral Researcher Spotlight: Yanhua Xie

    This week we spoke with Yanhua Xie, a postdoctoral researcher in the Holly Gibbs lab at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, to talk about why he came to UW-Madison, his recent publications on cropland and irrigation distribution in the U.S. and his plans for the future.

  • Undergraduate Researcher Spotlight: Leta Landucci

    This week we spoke with Leta Landucci, an undergraduate researcher in John Ralph's lab at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, to talk about her research into popular tree enzymes, how her research connects with plant engineering, and her experience working with talented scientists.

  • Postdoctoral Researcher Spotlight: Sae-Byuk Lee

    This week we spoke with Sae-Byuk Lee, a postdoctoral researcher in Chris Hittinger’s lab at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, to talk about his research into training yeast to turn xylose into fuel, how biofuels research connects with food microbiology, and what led him to UW–Madison.

  • Postdoctoral Researcher Spotlight: Balendra Sah

    This week we spoke with Balendra Sah, a postdoctoral researcher in Robert Landick’s lab at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, to talk about his research into engineering bacteria to make biofuels and what led him to UW–Madison.

  • Graduate Student Spotlight: Patricia Tran

    This week we spoke with Patricia Tran, a graduate student in Katherine McMahon’s lab at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Patricia is from Montreal, Canada and studied environmental science and bioinformatics for her Bachelor of Science with Honors at McGill University.