The Romulans

Jesús A. Romo, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

Training and Education

Postdoctoral Training - Tufts University School of Medicine

PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology (Microbiology and Immunology track) - The University of Texas at San Antonio

Master's in Biology - The University of Texas at San Antonio

Graduate Trainees

Kendall Esparrago

Third Year PhD student

Research focus: Characterizing the molecular mechanism of action of a small molecule inhibitor of C. albicans filamentation and biofilm formation

Training and Education

Bachelor's in Microbiology and Immunology - The University of Texas at San Antonio

Kendall is a third year PhD student in the Molecular Microbiology and Immunology program. He enjoys biking, reading, and nature walks. He prefers coffee over tea, but will drink both if he needs the caffeine boost. Although he may not mention it, he is a huge Star Wars geek.

Vina Manouchehri

Incoming MMI PhD Student

Research focus: Interkingdom interactions between Candida albicans and Clostridioides difficile

Training and Education

Bachelor's in Microbiology and Immunology - The University of Texas at San Antonio (expected summer 2026)

Vina is an incoming MMI PhD student. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, watching TV, and managing her dangerously large penguin collection. She dreams of the day when adopting penguins becomes legal—and fully expects to be first in line.

Cassandra Spondike

Masters in Biotechnology student

Research focus: Drug discovery targeting Clostridioides difficile biofilms

Training and Education

Bachelor's in Microbiology and Immunology - The University of Texas at San Antonio

Cassandra is a first year masters student in the Biotechnology program. She loves reading (especially sci-fi) and sports, has a sixth sense for detecting critters nearby, and is absolutely obsessed with Beat Saber. One day she hopes to combine her interests in science and aviation to become an astronaut with NASA.

Undergraduate Trainees

Mia Arias

UTSA College of Science

Training and Education

Ronald Reagan High School

Mia is an undergraduate junior studying Microbiology. In her free time, she enjoys reading, making pottery, and watching archaeological documentaries. As a child, she dreamed of becoming an archaeologist, but eventually changed direction after realizing she does not enjoy feeling dusty and probably was not meant to spend her life digging in the dirt.

Lilian Martinez

UTSA College of Science

Training and Education

Raul Garcia

UTSA College of Science NSF S-STEM APPEX Scholar

Training and Education

Past Members

Paola Zucchi, Ph.D.

Fall 2022-Spring 2026

Megan Medrano, M.S., Ph.D

Research focus: Defining host immune responses during gastrointestinal infections

MMI PhD student 2022-2026

Defended dissertation in July 2026!

Oscar Reyes-Parker

UTSA College of Science RISE Scholar

Starting PhD in the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB) program at University of Michigan fall 2026!

Elizabeth Negron

UTSA College of Science Honors, Honors College, and MARC Scholar

Fall 2022-Spring 2026

Katelyn N. Ward

UTSA College of Science RISE, WSRTP, and LSAMP-SRA Scholar

Summer 2024-Spring 2026

Shriyan Junnuthulla

Summer 2025

High school junior at BASIS Cedar Park in Cedar Park, TX.

Karyme Lozano

UTSA Honey Pathway Scholar

Summer 2024-Spring 2025

Currently a master's student at UT Health San Antonio in the Medical Lab Sciences program

Kyndall Martinez

Northwest Vista College PLUS+STEM scholar

Spring 2025

Shelbie Vasquez

(Rotation Student)

Spring 2025

Taylor Hearne

(Rotation Student)

Fall 2024-Spring 2025

Currently an MMI PhD Student in the Seshu lab at UTSA

Alvaro Ortola Tortosa, M.S.

Defended Master's Thesis entitled "Characterization of Genomic differences between Nakaseomyces glabrata strains using a bioinformatics pipeline" in the summer of 2024

Currently an MMI PhD Student in the Raghavan lab at UTSA