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Alecia Septer, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
asepter@email.unc.edu

My research interests focus on social interactions of both host-associated and free-living marine bacteria. I employ genetic, molecular, and bioinformatic techniques to characterize the genetic determinants of social interactions and how these genes influence cooperative and competitive behaviors. The goal is to understand how bacterial interactions create selective pressures that shape the evolution, community composition, and ecology of marine microorganisms.

Photo by Jamie Escola

Education and Training

2014 - 2015 Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Life Sciences Research Fellow

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

 

2012 - 2014 Postdoctoral Research Fellow (GBMF LSRF Fellow 2013-2014)

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University

 

2012 PhD in Microbiology, National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellow, Univerisity of Georgia

 

2006 B.Sc. in Microbiology, Biological Scholars Program, The Ohio State University

Current Lab Members

Bhavyaa Tyagi
Graduate Student

Bacteria utilize the biological weapon, Type VI Secretion System (T6SS), to compete against each other, and its impact has been studied in marine habitats and human microbiota. I deploy bacterial genetics and microscopy to study what gene(s) turn on this weapon and how environmental cues impact T6SS-mediated killings. I use the Hawaiian bobtail squid and the bioluminescent bacterium in its light-producing organ, Vibrio fischeri, as a model system for my research. 

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Rikki Shook
Graduate Student

My research utilizes the vibrio-squid symbiosis to investigate the microbial ecology of marine symbionts within and outside of the host environment. The goal is to understand how the environment may impact strain-level diversity with a specific interest in which competitive mechanisms become prevalent as environmental pressures change.

Aundre Jackson
Graduate Student

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Dani Zarate
Lab Technician

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Morgan Pavelsky
Lab Manager/Research Associate

Morgan just joined the lab in February 2023.  She will be working on general lab management and assisting lab members with research.  She will also be working with the lab's Nikon Ti-2 fluorescent microscope.

Undergraduate Researchers

2022 -              Klodia Badal - Biology (UNC-CH)

2022 - 2023     Dani Zarate - Environmental Science (UNC-CH)
Summer 2022 Selena Garcia - North Carolina Central University, SPIRE Summer Undergraduate Research Program

                        (presented her poster at the Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium)
2021 - 2022.    Kylie Showalter - UNC-CH
2020 - 2022     Yuzhou Chen - UNC-CH

2019                Lizzie Satkowiak - Biology (UNC)

2020                Jonathan Cheong - Biology (Cornell, NSURP, Susan Lynch Experiential Learning Grant)

2020                Trinity Bolton - Chemistry (Morgan State University, NSURP)        

2019-2020       Maddy Krueger - Biology (UNC)

2019-2020       Hannah Wilkins - Biology and Hispanic Literature & Culture (UNC, IDST195)

2019-2020       Mac Warwick - Biology and Neuroscience (UNC, IDST195)

2019-2020       Gracie Clark - Biology and Chemistry (UNC, IDST195)

2019                Tim Hall - Biology (UNC)

2019                Iris Chien - Environmental Sciences and Computer Science (UNC, IDEA student, MASC395)

2019                Brian Smith - Biology (UNCW)

2019                Gray Martens - High School Student (UNC Morehead-Cain Scholarship Nominee)

2018-2019       Coby Dorsey - Biology (UNC, IDEA student, MASC395, Hill Foundation Fellow)

2018-2019       Madison Woo - Environmental Sciences (UNC, MASC395)

2018                Ashley Byrd - Biology (UNC, MASC395)

2017-2018       Audrey Dinyari - Biology (UNC)

2017-2019       Christina Lim - Environmental Sciences (UNC, IDEA student, SURF, MASC395)                  

2017-2018       Daniel Efird - Biology (UNC)

2016-2017       Stephanie Smith - Biology (UNC, MASC395)

2016                Tara Williams - Biology (UNC)

2014-2017       Aditi Garikipati - Biology (UNC, MASC395)

Past Lab Members

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Andrea Suria
 

UNC CH-IRACDA (SPIRE) Postdoctoral Scholar (September 2019 - July 2023)
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Microbiology, Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio Wesleyan University

Garrett Sharpe
 

Graduate Student (August 2016 - July 2023)
Septer and Gifford Labs

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Steph Smith
 

Graduate Student (August 2013 - May 2023)
 

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Sarah Andrew
 

Graduate Student ( August 2018 - April 2022)
Current Position:
Lab Manager and Arc Center of Excellence Administrator, Australian National University

Lauren Speare
 

Graduate Student ( August 2016 - May 2021)
Current Position: Postdoctoral Researcher at Oregon State University

Travis Wilson

Graduate Student (August 2018 - December 2021)
Current Position: Industrial Hygienist and Occupational Safety Specialist, EPA

Tara Williams, BA in Biology
Undergraduate Researcher (January 2016 - May 2016)
Current position: Graduate student at University of South Alabama

Adam Spaulding, PhD in Microbiology

Postdoctoral Researcher (July 2015 - December 2015)

Current position: Microbiologist, Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

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