“Understanding how bacterial competition shapes the evolution, structure, and function of marine microbial communities”
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.
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
Dani Zarate
Lab Technician
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
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
Steph Smith
Graduate Student (August 2013 - May 2023)
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