The Armbruster Lab
People
Catherine Armbruster, PhD MPH
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor, Carnegie Mellon University
Ph.D., Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
MPH, Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA
Postdoctoral Appointment, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
Postdoctoral Appointment, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH
Liz Knorr, PhD (she/her)
Postdoctoral fellow
Liz is broadly interested in microbial diversity and interactions. Her research explores how Pseudomonas aeruginosa evolves in potable water and the downstream consequences of these adaptations in the host environment. Outside of the lab she enjoys reading, painting, and playing with her two dachshunds Birdie and Rue.
Anish Pyne, MS (he/him)
PhD candidate
Anish's research interests focus on microbial evolution and antimicrobial resistance. Currently, Anish is investigating novel regulators of biofilm formation across both built and host-associated environments. Outside the lab, Anish enjoys hiking, singing, reading, and watching horror movies.
Erin Walsh (she/her)
PhD candidate
Erin's research interests are bacterial evolution and social interactions in biofilms. She is currently investigating lipopolysaccharide and biofilm matrix interactions under nutrient limitation. Outside the lab, her interests are in rock climbing, jigsaw puzzles and making pastries.
Betsy Lewis (she/her)
PhD candidate
Betsy is interested in microbial evolution, diagnostic development, and engineering microbial consortia. Betsy is investigating the influence of evolutionary history in the built environment (nutrient-limited biofilms) on available routes to antimicrobial resistance. She is also exploring hypermutable simple sequence repeats as a mechanism for bacterial population heterogeneity and resilience.
Mara Kessler (they/he)
Lab manager, Research scientist
Mara is working with soil samples from the remediated brownfield Hazelwood Green to find a microbial consortia capable of degrading BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene) to be used as a bioremediation method.
Katherine Wang, MS (she/her)
Bioinformatician
Katie is a recent Masters of Quantitative Biology and Bioinformatics graduate in the Armbruster Lab. She works primarily on bioinformatic tool development for HPC environments, integrating Bash, Python, and R scripts in a portable Nextflow pipeline. Using the pipeline she developed for her master's thesis, she has supplied other members of the lab with statistical analysis and data visualization.
June Qu, MS (she/her)
Bioinformatician
June is a recent Master’s graduate from the Quantitative Biology and Bioinformatics program in the Armbruster lab. She leads bioinformatics analysis of metagenomic samples from the Hazelwood Green field site and is currently developing a user-friendly tool for the prediction and visualization of BTEX-degrading genes. Outside the lab, she enjoys running, hiking and experimenting with film photography.
Ethan Chen (he/him)
MS student
Ethan is an Automated Sciences Master's Student in the Armbruster lab. Ethan assists with optimization and understanding of the automation machines. His research interests are in applying machine learning to solve complex biological problems. In his free time, he enjoys running and finding new bakeries/cafes to try.
Marcus Lopez (he/him)
Undergrad
Marcus is a senior double majoring in Biological Sciences and Environmental & Sustainability Studies. Marcus will pursue his PhD in Cancer Biology at the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center this Fall. Currently, he is taking advantage of the Hazelwood Green revitalization project's environmental analysis data to find novel toxin-degrading microbial pathways that are capable of remediating polluted soil. Outside the lab, he enjoys cooking, gardening, entomological/botanical collecting, and video games.
Rashi Sharma (she/her)
Undergrad
Rashi is a neuroscience major in the Armbruster lab. She studies the adaptations of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to built environments, specifically potable water systems. She is especially interested in biofilms, and how environmental constraints shape the behavior and specialization of microbial communities. In her free time, she enjoys singing choral music, going to the gym, and reading.
Marissa Burns (she/they)
Undergrad
Marissa is a third-year student majoring in Biological Sciences. She is interested in how Pseudomonas aeruginosa evolves in built environments, specifically in drinking water systems and the downstream effects of these mutations. Currently, Marissa is investigating how evolved mutations in a diguanylate cyclase affect biofilm formation. In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors, cooking, and music.
Charlie Stanczak (he/him)
Undergrad
Charlie has been gaining critical experience for exploration into biology in the future. He plans on studying Ethics, History, & Public Policy with an additional major in Environmental & Sustainability Studies. Outside the lab he enjoys drawing, reading and playing videogames.