Irina Artsimovitch, Ph.D.
Irina started this lab in 2001. She is working on the role of the omega subunit in bacterial response to stress, structural determinants of RfaH transformation, and natural products and synthetic inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 RdRp. Irina Artsimovitch CV
Bing Wang, Ph.D.
Bing is a research scientist who has joined us in 2019. Bing is working on the molecular mechanisms of RNA synthesis, capping by SARS-CoV-2 RdRp, plasmid spreading and on the regulation of Rho-dependent termination.
Mark Finazzo, B.S.
Mark joined our group in January of 2022 as an undergraduate to work on mechanisms that restrain Rho activity under stress. He is continuing this project as a Microbiology Ph.D. student.
Barbare Khitiri, B.S.
Barbare is a Microbiology PhD student. She joined our lab in February of 2024. Barbare is working on the functional analysis of the RNA polymerase omega subunit.
Shahin Ansari, M.S.
Shahin is a Microbiology PhD student. She joined our lab in August of 2024. Shahin is working on the biology and regulation of conjugative plasmids.
Ren Wolfenden
Ren is a Microbiology UG student. He joined our lab in January of 2025. Ren is working on cellular and plasmid-encoded factors that are required for the maintenance of the antibiotic-resistant R6K plasmid in E. coli.
Sanika Kathale
Sanika is a Microbiology UG student. She joined our lab in January of 2025 and is working with Shahin to investigate mechanisms that modulate horizontal transfer of the R6K plasmid between bacteria.
Associate Members
Cyndi Tabilo Agurto, B.S.
Cyndi is a PhD student in the laboratory of Cesar Ramirez Sarmiento at the Catholic University of Chile. When visiting our lab, Cyndi is working on evolution and function of RfaH-like proteins.
Dmitri Svetlov, B.S.
Dmitri started to work in the lab in 2003 as a high-school student. Over the years, Dmitri came back to help with diverse projects, but now works with us remotely on RfaH metamorphoses and SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, where he pursues his graduate degree in Biomedical Engineering.