Graduate Students
Grace Pruett
Grace is a PhD Candidate in the Cell, Molecular, Health, and Disease (CMHD) Program in the Biology Department at Baylor University. As a member of the Kearney Lab, she is the lead graduate student on the Mosquitocidal Nectar Project. Her project is aimed at constructing nectar delivery systems of mosquito-specific toxins to provide a pesticide-alternative for mosquito population control.
Ankan Choudhury
Ankan is a PhD Candidate in the Cell, Molecular, Health, and Disease (CMHD) Program in the Biology Department at Baylor University. His background in pharmacology and protein synthesis allow him to produce numerous types of proteins in bacteria. While also working on the Antimicrobial Peptide project, his focus is on developing novel delivery methods for his synthesized products. He and Patrick (below) have developed a successful therapy against H. pylori using guided antimicrobial peptides in a mouse model system.
Patrick Ortiz
Patrick is a PhD Candidate in the Cell, Molecular, Health, and Disease (CMHD) Program in the Biology Department at Baylor University. He and Ankan worked on H. pylori eradication in mouse stomach using guided antimicrobial peptides. Patrick is now studying H. pylori evolution and population genetics.
Matthew Cooke
Matthew is a PhD Graduate Student in the Cell, Molecular, Health and Disease (CMHD) Proram in the Biology Department at Baylor University. Matthew is interested in protein structure as it relates to insecticidal toxins, especially in terms of specificity for a target. He is using the Aedes mosquito as a model system to study engineered protein toxins.