People

Current Members

Taz Ezra (EEB Graduate Student)

Tasman “Taz” Ezra is a PhD candidate co-affiliated with the laboratories of Dr. Liz Mallott and Dr. Jonathan Losos. By studying the microbiomes of repeated adaptive radiations of Caribbean lizards, he seeks to understand the rules that govern the assembly and evolution of microbial communities. Taz is also the founder and Executive Director of HonduHerp, a nonprofit dedicated to the conservation of Honduran reptiles, amphibians, and their habitats. He received his bachelor’s from Yale University in Earth and Planetary Sciences and his master’s from Harvard University in Science Education. If not in the field or lab, you’ll probably hear him singing and screaming in the environmental emo band, Half Inch Hero.

Alea Hanley (EEB Graduate Student)

David Hernandez (EEB Graduate Student)

David Hernandez is a PhD Student in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Program. He has a B.S in Zoology from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale IL where he studied the population genetics of ants across the Mississippi River. His research looks at how microplastic contaminants affect the host-associated microbial communities in freshwater fish populations and what roles they play in resilience, behavior, and predator-prey interactions. A St. Louis native, he enjoys exploring the city for great venues for dancing, eating new foods, and watching live entertainment.

Ingrid Lyons-Carlson (Undergraduate Researcher)

Ingrid is an undergraduate sophomore majoring in Biology on the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology track with a minor in Studio Art. She is interested in ecology and conservation biology’s role in climate justice. In the lab, she is starting to research the evolutionary history of lizard microbiomes in the Caribbean. In her free time, she writes to international pen pals, radio DJs, backpacks, and draws.

Dr. Liz Mallott (PI)

Liz is interested in understanding host-associated microbiome variation within and between species. Liz majored in both Biology and Music at Grinnell College (2006) and has a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2016). She was a postdoc at Northwestern University, Dartmouth College, and Vanderbilt University before starting at WUSTL in 2022. When not in the lab, Liz spends most of her time hanging out with daughter and partner, gardening, cooking, visiting the elephants and monkeys at the zoo, hiking, and discovering new playgrounds. mallott (at) wustl (dot) edu | CV | GitHub

Eloise Minnigh (Undergraduate Researcher)

Eloise is a sophomore studying Microbiology and Public Health & Society on a pre-veterinary track. She is broadly interested in wildlife health and disease emergence and hopes to become a veterinary epidemiologist. In the Mallott Lab, she is expanding her interest in primate health by beginning work on whether certain insects in the Weddell’s saddleback tamarin diet are vectors for helminth parasites that are found in their guts. In her free time, she enjoys reading up on historical epidemics, visiting the St. Louis Zoo, and crocheting.

Nazhin Nikaeen (DBBS/PMB Graduate Student)

Nazhin Nikaeen is a PhD student in the Plant and Microbial Biosciences. Her research focuses on the impact of flooding on the soil and human gut microbiome in rural communities. Nazhin received her bachelor’s in computational biology from UT Austin, where studied host-microbe interactions in fruit flies and honeybees. Outside of research, she enjoys cooking, painting, and calisthenics.

Bryce Nien (DBBS/PMB Graduate Student)

Bryce (Ting-Shuo) is a PhD student in the Plant and Microbial Biosciences program at WashU. He received his B.S. and M.S. from the Department of Life Science at National Taiwan University, where he studied bacterial interactions using cyanobacteria with different light preferences for photosynthesis. In the Mallott Lab, he is currently investigating the interplay between the gut microbiome, immune function, and hormone levels during pregnancy to better understand maternal-fetal conflict. Outside the lab, Bryce enjoys playing pickleball, watching bison and raccoons in Lone Elk Park, and discovering new restaurants in St. Louis.

Mimi Reagler (Undergraduate Researcher)

Mimi is a sophomore majoring in Biology with a minor in Public Health. She is interested in the role of the animal microbiome in health and disease, especially how much remains unknown about its impact on conservation and veterinary care. In the Mallott Lab, she is beginning work on a project investigating potential links between the vaginal microbiome and reproductive health in African painted dogs. Outside of the lab, Mimi enjoys reading, walking her dog, and playing water polo.

Maya Vitale (Lab Manager)

Lab Alumni

Dr. Carlye Chaney (Postdoctoral Fellow, 2023-2025) - now an Assistant Professor in Anthropology at the University of Missouri

Kaylaa Betts (Undergraduate Researcher, 2022-2023)

Shan Wang (Harrison D. Stalker Award in 2024, Undergraduate Researcher, 2023-2024) - currently a Medical Assistant at Piedmont Health Services

Dev Mukundan (Undergraduate Researcher, 2024-2025)

Jennifer Ong (Undergraduate Researcher, 2022-2026)

Leena Kwak (Undergraduate Researcher, 2024-2026)

Juliet Ainsley (Undergraduate Researcher, 2025-2026)

Kiersten Grathwohl (Lab Manager, 2023-2026)

Dr. Benjamin Gombash (Postdoctoral Research Associate, 2023-2025)