{"id":31,"date":"2024-01-29T20:59:28","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T20:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/?page_id=31"},"modified":"2026-03-20T17:08:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T17:08:19","slug":"people","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/people\/","title":{"rendered":"People"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"et_pb_section_0 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_block_section\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_0 et_pb_row et_flex_row\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_0 et_pb_column et-last-child et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et_flex_column_24_24 et_flex_column_24_24_tablet et_flex_column_24_24_phone\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_text_0 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><h1 style=\"text-align: left\">The Armbruster Lab<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_section_1 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_flex_section\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_1 et_pb_row et_grid_row\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_1 et_pb_column et-last-child et_flex_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_text_1 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff\">People<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_section_2 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_block_section\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_2 et_pb_row et_block_row\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_2 et_pb_column et_pb_column_1_3 et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_image_0 et_pb_image et_pb_module et_block_module\"><span class=\"et_pb_image_wrap\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2024\/01\/armbruster_catherine.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2024\/01\/armbruster_catherine.jpg 800w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2024\/01\/armbruster_catherine-480x480.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 800px, 100vw\" class=\"wp-image-36\" title=\"armbruster_catherine\" alt=\"image of Catherine Armbruster\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_3 et_pb_column et_pb_column_2_3 et-last-child et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_text_2 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><h4>Catherine Armbruster, PhD MPH<\/h4>\n<p><em>Principal Investigator<\/em><br \/>Assistant Professor, Carnegie Mellon University<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s1\">Ph.D., Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA<\/span><br \/>MPH, Emory University\u2019s Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA<br \/>Postdoctoral Appointment, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA<br \/>Postdoctoral Appointment, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:c4t@cmu.edu\">c4t@cmu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<ul class=\"et_pb_social_media_follow_0 et_pb_social_media_follow clearfix et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module\">\n<li class=\"et_pb_social_media_follow_network_0 et_pb_social_media_follow_network et_pb_social_icon et_pb_social_network_link et-social-twitter et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/catarmbruster?lang=en\" class=\"icon\" title=\"Follow on X\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"et_pb_social_media_follow_network_name\">Follow<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n<li class=\"et_pb_social_media_follow_network_1 et_pb_social_media_follow_network et_pb_social_icon et_pb_social_network_link et-social-linkedin et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/catherine-armbruster-41303537\" class=\"icon\" title=\"Follow on Linkedin\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"et_pb_social_media_follow_network_name\">Follow<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n<li class=\"et_pb_social_media_follow_network_2 et_pb_social_media_follow_network et_pb_social_icon et_pb_social_network_link et-pb-social-fa-icon et-social-researchgate et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Catherine-Armbruster\" class=\"icon\" title=\"Follow on Researchgate\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"et_pb_social_media_follow_network_name\">Follow<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_section_3 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_block_section\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_3 et_pb_row et_block_row\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_4 et_pb_column et_pb_column_1_3 et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_team_member_0 et_pb_team_member et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_image et-waypoint et_pb_animation_off\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/IMG_8476-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Liz Knorr, PhD (she\/her)\" width=\"2279\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/IMG_8476-1-scaled.jpg 2279w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/IMG_8476-1-1280x1438.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/IMG_8476-1-980x1101.jpg 980w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/IMG_8476-1-480x539.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 2279px, 100vw\" class=\"wp-image-204\" title=\"IMG_8476\" \/><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_description\"><h4 class=\"et_pb_module_header\">Liz Knorr, PhD (she\/her)<\/h4><p class=\"et_pb_member_position\">Postdoctoral fellow<\/p><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_description_content\"><p>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.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_5 et_pb_column et_pb_column_1_3 et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_team_member_1 et_pb_team_member et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_image et-waypoint et_pb_animation_off\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/pyne_anish-2023.jpg\" alt=\"Anish Pyne, MS (he\/him)\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/pyne_anish-2023.jpg 800w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/pyne_anish-2023-480x480.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 800px, 100vw\" class=\"wp-image-197\" title=\"pyne_anish-2023\" \/><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_description\"><h4 class=\"et_pb_module_header\">Anish Pyne, MS (he\/him)<\/h4><p class=\"et_pb_member_position\">PhD candidate<\/p><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_description_content\"><p>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.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_6 et_pb_column et_pb_column_1_3 et-last-child et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_team_member_2 et_pb_team_member et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_image et-waypoint et_pb_animation_off\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/Walsh.erin_.jpg\" alt=\"Erin Walsh (she\/her)\" width=\"220\" height=\"220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/Walsh.erin_.jpg 220w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/Walsh.erin_-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px\" class=\"wp-image-251\" title=\"Walsh.erin_\" \/><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_description\"><h4 class=\"et_pb_module_header\">Erin Walsh (she\/her)<\/h4><p class=\"et_pb_member_position\">PhD candidate<\/p><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_description_content\"><p>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.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_section_4 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_block_section\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_4 et_pb_row et_block_row\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_7 et_pb_column et_pb_column_1_3 et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_team_member_3 et_pb_team_member et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_image et-waypoint et_pb_animation_off\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/IMG_0037-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"Betsy Lewis (she\/her)\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/IMG_0037-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/IMG_0037-1280x960.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/IMG_0037-980x735.jpeg 980w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/IMG_0037-480x360.jpeg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 2560px, 100vw\" class=\"wp-image-200\" title=\"IMG_0037\" \/><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_description\"><h4 class=\"et_pb_module_header\">Betsy Lewis (she\/her)<\/h4><p class=\"et_pb_member_position\">PhD candidate<\/p><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_description_content\"><p>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. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_8 et_pb_column et_pb_column_1_3 et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_team_member_4 et_pb_team_member et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_image et-waypoint et_pb_animation_off\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/pfp2.jpg\" alt=\"Mara Kessler (they\/he)\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/pfp2.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/pfp2-1280x853.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/pfp2-980x653.jpg 980w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/pfp2-480x320.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 2048px, 100vw\" class=\"wp-image-201\" title=\"pfp2\" \/><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_description\"><h4 class=\"et_pb_module_header\">Mara Kessler (they\/he)<\/h4><p class=\"et_pb_member_position\">Lab manager, Research scientist<\/p><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_description_content\"><p>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.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_9 et_pb_column et_pb_column_1_3 et-last-child et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_team_member_5 et_pb_team_member et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_image et-waypoint et_pb_animation_off\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/image-1.png\" alt=\"Katherine Wang, MS (she\/her)\" width=\"1693\" height=\"1270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/image-1.png 1693w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/image-1-1280x960.png 1280w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/image-1-980x735.png 980w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/image-1-480x360.png 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 1693px, 100vw\" class=\"wp-image-198\" title=\"image (1)\" \/><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_description\"><h4 class=\"et_pb_module_header\">Katherine Wang, MS (she\/her)<\/h4><p class=\"et_pb_member_position\">Bioinformatician<\/p><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_description_content\"><p>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.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_section_5 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_block_section\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_5 et_pb_row et_block_row\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_10 et_pb_column et_pb_column_1_3 et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_team_member_6 et_pb_team_member et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_image et-waypoint et_pb_animation_off\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/JQ_pic-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"June Qu, MS (she\/her)\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2286\" srcset=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/JQ_pic-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/JQ_pic-1280x1143.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/JQ_pic-980x875.jpg 980w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/JQ_pic-480x429.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 2560px, 100vw\" class=\"wp-image-202\" title=\"JQ_pic\" \/><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_description\"><h4 class=\"et_pb_module_header\">June Qu, MS (she\/her)<\/h4><p class=\"et_pb_member_position\">Bioinformatician<\/p><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_description_content\"><p>June is a recent Master\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_11 et_pb_column et_pb_column_1_3 et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_team_member_7 et_pb_team_member et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_image et-waypoint et_pb_animation_off\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/ethanch2andrew.cmu_.edu-e8986717-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Ethan Chen (he\/him)\" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/ethanch2andrew.cmu_.edu-e8986717-scaled.jpg 1707w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/ethanch2andrew.cmu_.edu-e8986717-1280x1920.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/ethanch2andrew.cmu_.edu-e8986717-980x1470.jpg 980w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/ethanch2andrew.cmu_.edu-e8986717-480x720.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 1707px, 100vw\" class=\"wp-image-199\" title=\"ethanch2andrew.cmu.edu-e8986717\" \/><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_description\"><h4 class=\"et_pb_module_header\">Ethan Chen (he\/him)<\/h4><p class=\"et_pb_member_position\">MS student<\/p><div class=\"et_pb_team_member_description_content\"><p>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.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_12 et_pb_column et_pb_column_1_3 et-last-child et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_blurb_0 et_pb_blurb et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_blurb_position_top et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_blurb_content et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_main_blurb_image\"><span class=\"et_pb_image_wrap et_pb_only_image_mode_wrap\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/Science-Headshot-scaled.jpg\" width=\"1805\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/Science-Headshot-scaled.jpg 1805w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/Science-Headshot-1280x1815.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/Science-Headshot-980x1390.jpg 980w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/Science-Headshot-480x681.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 1805px, 100vw\" class=\"wp-image-253\" title=\"Science Headshot\" \/><\/span><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_blurb_container\"><h4 class=\"et_pb_module_header\">Marcus Lopez (he\/him)<\/h4><div class=\"et_pb_blurb_description\"><p>Undergrad\u00a0<br \/>Marcus is a senior double majoring in Biological Sciences and Environmental &amp; 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.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_6 et_pb_row et_flex_row\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_13 et_pb_column et_flex_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et_flex_column_8_24 et_flex_column_8_24_tablet et_flex_column_24_24_phone\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_blurb_1 et_pb_blurb et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_blurb_position_top et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_blurb_content et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_main_blurb_image\"><span class=\"et_pb_image_wrap et_pb_only_image_mode_wrap\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/Rashi-scaled.jpg\" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/Rashi-scaled.jpg 1707w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/Rashi-1280x1920.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/Rashi-980x1470.jpg 980w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/Rashi-480x720.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 1707px, 100vw\" class=\"wp-image-260\" title=\"Rashi\" \/><\/span><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_blurb_container\"><h4 class=\"et_pb_module_header\">Rashi Sharma (she\/her)<\/h4><div class=\"et_pb_blurb_description\"><p>Undergrad<br \/>Rashi is a neuroscience major in the Armbruster lab. She studies the adaptations of <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa <\/i>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.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_14 et_pb_column et_flex_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et_flex_column_8_24 et_flex_column_8_24_tablet et_flex_column_24_24_phone\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_blurb_2 et_pb_blurb et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_blurb_position_top et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_blurb_content et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_main_blurb_image\"><span class=\"et_pb_image_wrap et_pb_only_image_mode_wrap\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/headshot.jpg\" width=\"1633\" height=\"2448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/headshot.jpg 1633w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/headshot-1280x1919.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/headshot-980x1469.jpg 980w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/headshot-480x720.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 1633px, 100vw\" class=\"wp-image-270\" title=\"headshot\" \/><\/span><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_blurb_container\"><h4 class=\"et_pb_module_header\">Marissa Burns (she\/they)<\/h4><div class=\"et_pb_blurb_description\"><p>Undergrad<br \/>Marissa is a third-year student majoring in Biological Sciences. She is interested in how <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa <\/i>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.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_15 et_pb_column et-last-child et_flex_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et_flex_column_8_24 et_flex_column_8_24_tablet et_flex_column_24_24_phone\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_blurb_3 et_pb_blurb et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_blurb_position_top et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_blurb_content et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_main_blurb_image\"><span class=\"et_pb_image_wrap et_pb_only_image_mode_wrap\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/a8a77bc5-076f-4646-af51-6ce64118fd79-1_all_18420.jpg\" width=\"1313\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/a8a77bc5-076f-4646-af51-6ce64118fd79-1_all_18420.jpg 1313w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/a8a77bc5-076f-4646-af51-6ce64118fd79-1_all_18420-1280x2496.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/a8a77bc5-076f-4646-af51-6ce64118fd79-1_all_18420-980x1911.jpg 980w, https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/38\/2026\/03\/a8a77bc5-076f-4646-af51-6ce64118fd79-1_all_18420-480x936.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 1313px, 100vw\" class=\"wp-image-267\" title=\"a8a77bc5-076f-4646-af51-6ce64118fd79-1_all_18420\" \/><\/span><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_blurb_container\"><h4 class=\"et_pb_module_header\">Charlie\u00a0Stanczak (he\/him)<\/h4><div class=\"et_pb_blurb_description\"><p>Undergrad<br \/>Charlie has been gaining critical experience for exploration into biology in the future. He plans on studying Ethics, History, &amp; Public Policy with an additional major in Environmental &amp; Sustainability Studies. Outside the lab he enjoys drawing, reading and playing videogames.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_section_6 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_block_section\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-31","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31"}],"version-history":[{"count":55,"href":"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":271,"href":"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31\/revisions\/271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.bio.cmu.edu\/armbruster\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}