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Welcome to the Inglis lab. On this site you’ll be able to find out who is in the lab and what they are up to, along with some links to useful and interesting things. In general, our research is focussed on trying to understand how complex bacterial interactions evolve. This might sound vague, but it’s the best summary because of the breadth of ideas and topics covered by the brilliant researchers in this lab. Our work includes but is not limited to the production of public goods and toxins, plasmid evolution, antibiotic resistance, and even phages. To learn more check out the people below and what they are working on.

Lab photo while maintaining safe social distancing (Webster, Holly, Me, Ayush, jeff, Keri). December 2020.

News

COVID Tracking in the St. Louis Area

jeff and I are interested in how COVID is spreading in the St. Louis area. If you are too, check out jeff’s GitHub site. Our work was featured in the Columbia Tribune.

Podcasts

jeff and I have talked about COVID with Jim Bashkin (UMSL) and Gill Eapen from the Scientific Sense Podcast. You can hear the conversation here.

I was also on podcast chatting about the microbiome with Susanne DiSalvo (SIUE) and Britt Peterson (SIUE), again with Gill Eapen from the Scientific Sense Podcast.

People

Fredrik Inglis (me) – Principal Investigator

I am an assistant professor at the University of Missouri – St. Louis, where I mostly study the evolution of microbial interactions (along with plasmids, phage, antibiotics, and anything else that affects bacterial evolution) . These types of interactions range from cooperatively acquiring iron from the environment to producing antimicrobial toxins and have important consequences for human health and maintaining diverse and properly functions environmental ecosystems. I also teach Microbiology (Biol2482) and Biostatistics (Biol4122).

Holly Huelskamp – Lab Manager

Holly is finishing her undergraduate degree in Biotechnology/Biochemistry this spring and is planning on attending graduate school in Biology in the fall.  She is currently the lab manager and is working on several projects, including how E. coli evolve resistance to multiple bacteriophage. 

jeff smith – Research Scientist

I’m interested in the evolution of cooperation and conflict in 
microbial systems, especially bacteria and their mobile genetic 
elements. What evolutionary processes maintain cooperative 
interactions among microbes and limit the spread of of “cheater” 
genotypes? When do symbioses evolve to be mutualistic and when do they 
evolve to be parasitic? Why do plasmids and phage so often carry genes 
for pathogen virulence and resistance to antibiotics? My work 
addresses these questions using a combination of laboratory 
experiments and mathematical models.

Webster Heffern – PhD Student

Webster is a PhD student… more to follow soon

Keri Hoffman – Undergraduate Researcher

Keri Hoffman is an undergrad researcher… more to follow soon.

Nicole Miller – Post-Baccalaureate Researcher

Nicole is a post-baccalaureate student working toward a second bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Biotechnology.  Her first degree is in Science of Natural and Environmental Systems from Cornell University.  She plans to graduate in the spring of 2022 and pursue further studies at the graduate level.  She currently works with Holly Huelskamp investigating co-evolutionary relationships between E. coli and several bacteriophages.