Merchant Lab

Sabeeha Merchant: Principal Investigator

Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology
Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology
Faculty Senior Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry, UCLA
Warren C. Eveland Chair in Biological Sciences

BS and PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Post-doctoral Scholar, Harvard University
Searle Scholar; National Institutes of Health Research Career Development Award; UCLA Faculty Career Development Awards; Guggenheim Foundation Fellow; Charles Albert Shull Award of ASPB; Herbert Newby McCoy Award; AAAS Fellow; ASPB Fellow; NAS Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal; ASPB Charles F. Kettering Award; Humboldt Forschungspreis (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation); Darbaker Prize from the Botanical Society of America; Elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; External Member, Max Planck Institute – Molecular Plant Physiology, Elected to Germany Academy of Sciences Leopoldina

sabeeha at berkeley dot edu

Sean D. Gallaher: Research Scientist

BS and PhD, University of California, Los Angeles

I am interested in leveraging computational biology strategies (e.g. transcriptomics, genomics, etc.) to interrogate the inner workings of green algae.

gallaher at berkeley dot edu

Anne Glaesener: Research Scientist

B.Sc., M.Sc., Technical University Braunschweig, Germany (Biotechnology)
PhD, University of Kaiserslautern, Germany

My research focuses on trace metal nutrition, specifically Cu, Fe & Zn, in photosynthetic algae.

aglaesener at berkeley dot edu

Jeff Moseley: Research Scientist

B.Sc. University of California, San Diego, Biochemistry
Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles, Molecular Biology
Post-doc Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Plant Biology

Algae nutrition, photosynthesis, fatty acid and lipid biosynthesis, biotechnology applications

jlmoseley at berkeley dot edu

Charles Perrino: Research Scientist

B.A. Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley

M.S. Environmental Engineering, University of Florida

My research focuses on developing instrumental methods and validating quality control for analyzing diverse samples, with a particular emphasis on trace element detection using ICP-MS. Applying this analysis to biological and environmental samples, I explores the impact of trace metals on algal ecosystems.

pens at berkeley dot edu

Jon Lin: Postdoctoral Scholar
NIH Fellowship

Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Michigan State University

My research is dedicated to the development of oleaginous green algae as a sustainable platform for producing valuable lipid feedstock essential for both food and renewable energy. In addition to my work at the Sabeeha Merchant Lab, I am affiliated with the Trent Northen group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where I conducts research on lipid metabolism.

linyt at berkeley dot edu

Usha Lingappa: Postdoctoral Scholar

BA in astrobiology from Hampshire College
PhD in geobiology from Caltech

For my postdoctoral research, I am using model algae to explore the disconnect between life in the natural environment and how we understand biology in the lab.

ufl at berkeley dot edu

Marco Dueñas: Graduate Student (Plant Biology)
NIH Fellowship

B.S., University of California, Riverside (Biology) Summa Cum Laude

My research focuses on studying polycistronic expression in algae systems, both to uncover a mechanism and for synthetic biology application of rare products and designer lipids in the algae Auxenochlorella Protothecoides

marco.duenas at berkeley dot edu

Dimitrios Camacho: Graduate Student (Molecular and Cell Biology)
Chancellor’s Fellowship

B.S., Dominican University of California, Biological Sciences (Molecular Cell Biology)

I am interested in using multi-omics and synthetic biology approaches to interrogate various trace metal nutrient sensing and acquisition mechanisms of green algae. I am specifically interested in the transcriptomic responses of Chromochloris zofingiensis and Auxenochlorella protothecoides under Cu, Zn, and Fe deficiencies.

dimitrios_camacho at berkeley dot edu

Sunnyjoy Dupuis: Graduate Student (Microbiology)

B.S., California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Microbiology, Minor of Environmental Studies)

I am interested in studying symbiosis between Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and rhizobial bacteria. How do these partners communicate to establish and maintain beneficial interactions? How does this change the metabolisms and genetic programs of each partner?  

sunnyjoy_dupuis at berkeley dot edu

Helen Liu: Graduate Student (Plant Biology)
NSF-GRFP Fellowship

B.S., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Crop Sciences, Plant Biotechnology and Molecular Biology)

My research focuses on understanding iron homeostasis in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. I am interested in how photosynthesis, and generally the chloroplast, acclimates to iron deficiency by leveraging both Chlamydomonas and the halotolerant micro algae, Dunaliella.

hwliu2 at berkeley dot edu

Jude Edwards: Lab Technician

University of California, Berkeley Molecular Environmental Biology B.S. with Honors

judith.edwards_23 at berkeley dot edu

Jordan Chastain: Lab Assistant
ASPB-SURF

I am interested in understanding how Chlamydomonas interacts with heterotrophic bacteria in natural environments. I study microbial growth patterns and requirements for various nutrients, such as vitamins and carbon sources. I would also like to apply these findings to improving microalgae fitness in space life support systems.

jordanlynne at berkeley dot edu

Lauren Chiang: Undergraduate

laurentchiang at berkeley dot edu

I’m interested in the genetic engineering of green algae to produce a variety of lipid compositions to suit human and societal needs.

Sonia Roedersheimer: Undergraduate

sroedersheimer at berkeley dot edu

Radhika Mehta: Postdoctoral Scholar Alumna

BSc (Chemistry) St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi
MSc by research (Inorganic Chemistry) University of Oxford
PhD (Chemistry) University of Texas at Austin
Pumpkinseed, Research Scientist

My research interests broadly include studying metals in biology- especially the interplay between the labile and metalloprotein-bound metal pools. In my postdoctoral research, I am studying the copper transcription factor, copper response regulator-1 (CRR1), responsible for controlling copper sensing and nutrition in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. More specifically, I am employing molecular biology and genetics tools to delineate steps between copper sensing and CRR1 degradation.

Valle Ojeda Servian: Postdoctoral Scholar Alumna

B.S., M.S. and PhD, University of Seville, Spain

The objective of my project is to go beyond inventories of redox modified proteins by monitoring the proteome-wide dynamics of disulphide-dithiol status in the context of a diurnal metabolic cycle in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The findings will be important for modelling diurnal metabolic flux, which is useful for developing biotechnological strategies, whether synthetic biology or pharmacological, for manipulating metabolism for production of biofuels and bioproducts, where Chlamydomonas is a key reference organism.

Stefan Schmollinger: Research Scientist Alumna

PhD, University of Kaiserslautern, Germany
Postdoctoral Scholar, UCLA
Research Assistant Professor, MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University

I am interested in acclimation responses to environmental cues in Chlamydomonas, and also elemental analysis in bulk or spatial distribution in eukaryotes. Currently searching for the point of intersection.

Daniela Strenkert: Research Scientist Alumna

PhD, University of Kaiserslautern, Germany
Postdoctoral Scholar, UCLA
Assistant Professor, MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University

I am studying how transcriptional changes are orchestrated with changes of the epigenetic landscape in the eukaryotic, single-celled green algae Chlamydomonas. Chlamydomonas is a superior reference system since it offers all advantages of a single celled, eukaryotic, microbial culture system that can be combined with genome wide profiling approaches.

Rory Craig: Research Scientist Alumna

PhD, University of Kaiserslautern, Germany
Postdoctoral Scholar, UCLA
Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen