Members

Assistant Professor

Food Science Department, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Tu-Anh received her BS degree from the University of New South Wales (Australia), where she performed her thesis work on the microbial ecology of cocoa bean fermentation with Dr. Graham Fleet. She obtained her PhD degree from the University of California - Davis, where she trained with Dr. Valley Stewart on the Nar two-component signal transduction systems. She pursued her post-doctoral training with Dr. Josh Woodward at the University of Washington. In the Woodward lab, Tu-Anh began to study c-di-AMP signaling in Listeria monocytogenes, and continues to explore its mechanisms in her current lab at UW - Madison.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Food Science Department, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Aaron received his BS degree in Pre-medical Biology from the University of West Georgia in 2009. After entering the MS degree program at Purdue University in 2010, he decided to continue as a PhD candidate in Molecular Genetics of Bacteria. He obtained his PhD degree in 2016, in which he trained with Dr. Laszlo Csonka on the transcriptional regulation of Mg2+ transport proteins in the food-borne pathogen Salmonella enterica. Under the same guidance of Dr. Laszlo Csonka, he continued his post-doctoral training until 2019. Now, in Dr. Tu Anh Huynh's lab at UW-Madison, Aaron is studying c-di-AMP signaling in Listeria monocytogenes.

Research Specialist

Food Science Department, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Steven received his BA degree in Molecular and Cell Biology (Biochemistry) from the University of California, Berkeley. As an undergraduate, he worked as a research assistant at UCSF and developed an interest in enzymology and cell wall structure of pathogens. He continues to explore these interests at UW Madison with Dr. Tu-Anh Huynh, studying c-di-AMP signaling in Listeria monocytogenes.

PhD Student
Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Cheta studied molecular biology and genetics as an undergraduate at Boston University, and also worked in a fungal ecology lab during her time there. After earning her BA, she worked in a Next Generation Sequencing facility at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for two years before joining the Microbiology Doctoral Training Program at UW Madison. Her project in the Huynh lab focuses on defining the mechanisms of c-di-AMP toxicity in L. monocytogenes.

In her spare time, Cheta enjoys making pickles, biking/exercising/exploring the outdoors, and reading Stephen King novels.

PhD Student

Food Science Department, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Zepeng received his BS degree in Bioscience from the Huazhong Agricultural University in 2017. He got his MS degree at the same university in 2019, majoring in Developmental Biology. During his MS, he studies the molecular mechanisms of the interaction between psychological stress and heart diseases. Now he studies as a PhD student in the Food Science Department at UW Madison. His project in the Huynh lab focus on the mechanism of L. monocytogenes pathogenesis and antibiotics resistance.

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Food Science Department, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Shea is currently pursuing her BS degree in Microbiology with a Certificate in Asian American Studies from UW Madison. She is exploring her interest in bacterial pathogenesis and antibiotic resistance at the Huynh Lab.