Laboratory Members
Principal Investigator
Michael Bachmannm, MD, scD
Associate Professor
M.D., 1985, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
Sc.D., 1996, Harvard University, Boston, MA
Postdoctoral Fellow, 1995-96, Dept. of Psychiatry & Psychosocial Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Postdoctoral Fellow, 1996-2002, Dept. of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Research Scientist, 2002-2017, Dept. of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Dr. Michael Bachmann is an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Michigan State University, and a member of the Institute for Quantitative Health Sciences and Engineering.
As a trained molecular virologist and cancer biologist my goal has been to advance our understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of HIV/AIDS infection, cancer, transplantation, and now, SARS-CoV2/COVID19. I studied medicine in Frankfurt/Main and Mainz, Germany, and spent my final year at the Hammersmith Hospital in London, U.K.
In my graduate studies in the laboratory of Dr. James I. Mullins in the Dept. of Cancer Biology at the Harvard School of Public Health (1986-89) and Stanford University (1989-96) I focused on the molecular epidemiology of human and feline immunodeficiency viruses.
From 1995-96 I worked as a postdoctoral researcher with Dr. David Spiegel in the Dept. of Psychiatry at Stanford University on psychosocial effects on HIV/AIDS disease progression.
Subsequently, I joined the laboratory of Dr. Christopher Contag at Stanford University. First as a postdoctoral fellow and then as a research scientist I advanced bioluminescence imaging (BLI) methodology and applied it to animal models of human disease, including cancer and infection. Over the last decade, I have developed a molecular genetic screen using BLI and transposon-mediated gene transfer to study how the immune system interacts with cancer cells and immunologically mismatched transplants and how it could possibly be modulated for the benefit of patients.
Michael H. Bachmann - Publications Search on PubMed
Contact: mhb@msu.edu
Teaching:
Since 2008 I have regularly taught courses on HIV/AIDS and cancer biology at U.C. Berkeley Extension and Stanford University Continuing Studies.
At MSU, I have been teaching:
• MMG491 “Current Topics in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics”;
• MMG409 “ Eukaryotic Cell Biology”: cancer biology and virus-host interactions;
• MMG490: “Biology of Human Cancer” (for more information and course materials see the website in the Teaching section)
• MMG813 “Virology”: Retroviruses and HIV/AIDS
TEAM
"A single finger cannot lift a pebble.” — Hopi proverb
Team Members - Current
Team Members - Past
Xuan Xie
Graduate student, Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology at MSU
Thesis project: Understanding Immunothrombosis in COVID Patients
Amy Tonielli
Undergraduate student and Professorial Assistant
Project: COVID pathogenesis: Expression cloning cDNAs for protein-protein interaction studies
Gianna Hicks
Undergraduate student
Project: COVID pathogenesis
James Nelon
Undergraduate student
Project: COVID pathogenesis - Protein-protein interactions
Mansi Paradkar
Undergraduate student
Project: Screening a phage peptide library for SARS-CoV2 protein binders
Sooahn Jang
Undergraduate student
Project: Screening a phage peptide library for SARS-CoV2 protein binders
Khushi Chhabra
Undergraduate student
Project: Cancer epidemiology
CrisTiane Pereira-Hicks
B.S., M.S., Microbiology and Immunology
Cris was our team’s lab manager from 2019-2022. Cris has a Master’s Degree in Microbiology and Immunology and many years of experience in pharmacology & toxicology, microbiology & molecular genetics.
Cris worked on several projects addressing bacterial antimicrobial resistance and cancer immunology, and played a crucial role in the start of our COVID project.
Her current position at MSU is in the Environmental Health and Safety .
Angela DeTOMASO
B.S., M.P.H.
Angela was our teams’ first lab’s manager from 2017-2019. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Health and years of experience in microbiology & molecular genetics. She was instrumental in getting the lab started.
As a research technician Angela contributed on various projectsbacterial antimicrobial resistance and cancer immunology.
Angela currently is a PhD student in the Dept. of Pathology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University.
Student Researchers - Past Lab Members
EMILY STEFFKE
Undergraduate Student
Major: Neuroscience and English
Minor: Music
Project: Studying oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes that allow cancer cells to escape detection from the immune system’s defense.
Current position: Graduate student, Cambridge University, U.K.
RACHEAL NASSIMBWA
Undergraduate Student
Major: Biomedical Laboratory Sciences
Minor: Global Public health and Epidemiology
Project: Studying the expression of HIV accessory gene products, individually and in combination, on immune response. We study this response in human, monkey, and mouse macrophages through luciferase labeling techniques.
GRACE WHIPPLE
Undergraduate Student
Major: Human Biology
Minor: Health Promotions
Project: Identifying viral genes whose products are secreted and influence the reactivity of immune cells. We do this by using a of transposon expression system where the transposon is engineered to carry a viral gene of interest and upon jumping into the genome of a cell line produces the corresponding viral protein.
JESSICA STARNES
Undergraduate Student
Major: Microbiology and molecular genetics
Project: Testing plant derived essential oils against the bacterium Vibro Cholera. This project contributes to our understanding of antimicrobial resistance.
IHIKA LAGISETTY
Undergraduate Student
Major: Genomics and Molecular Genetics
Minor: Korean Language
Project: Studying diarrhea-causing E. coli bacterial strains for their susceptibility to alternative, plant-derived antibacterial compounds. For this we are tagging clinical E. coli isolates from patients with severe diarrhea with a bioluminescent enzyme so that the bacteria produce light and can be monitored in vitro and in mouse models of infection with a bioluminescence imaging instrument.
ERICA SHAFER
Undergraduate Student
Major: Genomics & Molecular Genetics, Human Biology
Minor: Bioethics
Project: Are goal is to find plant-based compounds active against gastrointestinal pathogens such as Salmonella and E. coli. My project includes labeling these bacterial strains with the light-emitting luciferase reporter gene so we may conduct analytical tests of the antimicrobial affects that our plant-based compounds have on them.
BROOKE MCCAFFREY
Undergraduate Student
Major: Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics
Minor: Bioethics
Project: Testing plant derived essential oils against the bacterium Staphylococcus Aureus. This project contributes to our understanding of antimicrobial resistance.
KATIE SINGER
Undergraduate Student
Major: Human Biology
Minor: Korean Language
Project: Researching plant derived essential oil compounds against the bacterium Salmonella Enterica. This project contributes to our understanding of alternate treatment methods of infections that are normally treated with antibiotics.