{"id":63,"date":"2019-05-03T10:02:24","date_gmt":"2019-05-03T14:02:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/mok-lab\/?page_id=63"},"modified":"2026-03-27T21:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T01:00:19","slug":"news","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/mok-lab\/news\/","title":{"rendered":"News"},"content":{"rendered":"

News<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

2026<\/h3>\n

March 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Postdoc Dr. Ranjuna Weerasekera presented his work on uropathogenic\u00a0E. coli<\/em> antibiotic tolerance at the ASBMB annual meeting in Washington D.C.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

February 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

YIIP Scholar Nathaniel Rodney joins our lab. Welcome back, Nathaniel!<\/p>\n

January 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Postdoc Jonathan Batchelder presents his work on Staphylococcus aureus<\/em> persister resuscitation at the inaugural ASM\/IDSA Interdisciplinary Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance and Innovation (IMARI) in Las Vegas!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

2025<\/h3>\n

November 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jonathan Batchelder successfully defends his thesis and earned his PhD. Congratulations, Dr. Batchelder!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

October 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Angie Power presents her work on UPEC antibiotic tolerance at the Biomedical Engineering Society 2025 Annual Meeting!<\/p>\n

September 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

DMD-PhD student Patricia Hare successfully defends her dissertation! Congratulations Dr. Hare!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Nisha Mahey presents her work on DNA repair in S<\/em>. aureus\u00a0<\/em>at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Meeting on Microbial Pathogenesis & Host Response. Nisha's participation in this meeting was supported in part by the American Society for Microbiology's Career Development Grant for Postdoctoral Women. Congrats, Nisha!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Anna Truong, and MD-PhD rotation student, Jipeng Yue, join the lab. Welcome Anna and JP!<\/p>\n

August 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Angie, Travis, and Jonathan presented their research at UConn Health's annual Graduate Student Research Day. Jonathan was awarded first-place for his poster presentation, as well as the Student Mentorship Award! Well done all!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Postdoctoral researcher Dr. Ranjuna Weerasekera joins our lab! Welcome Ranjuna!<\/p>\n

Travis LaGree gives a talk on his work on amino acid metabolism and antibiotic tolerance among different uropathogenic\u00a0E. coli\u00a0<\/em>strains at the 2025 Molecular Genetics of Bacteria and Phages (\"Phages\") Meeting in Wisconsin, Madison!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

July 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wendy presents our work on\u00a0Staphylococcus aureus\u00a0<\/em>persister repair at Staph-Symposia 2025!<\/p>\n

June 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

High school student Samrath Singh joins our lab for his summer research. Welcome Samrath!<\/p>\n

April 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wendy presents our work on\u00a0Staphylococcus aureus\u00a0<\/em>persisters at Duke University's Molecular Genetics and Microbiology (MGM) Thursday Seminar series. Thank you to Dr. Emily Derbyshire for hosting!<\/p>\n

March 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wendy presents our work on\u00a0Pseudomonas aeruginosa\u00a0<\/em>persisters at the inaugural European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) meeting on Persister Cells: from Bacteria to Cancer in Lyon, France. Thank you to the organizers for putting together such an interesting and interactive meeting!<\/p>\n

February 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jonathan Batchelder gives an invited talk on his project on Staphylococcus aureus\u00a0<\/em>persisters and metabolism at the Virtual Symposium on ESKAPE Pathogens (ESKAPE-2025)!<\/p>\n

2024<\/h3>\n

October 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our undergraduate student Nathaniel Rodney presented his work on riboswitch biosensor engineering at the 2024 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Student Conference and was awarded a 3rd place poster award. Congrats, Nathaniel!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Congratulations to Patricia Hare for being awarded the CT Woman of Innovation<\/a> award in the Collegian Innovation & Leadership category at the 19th<\/sup> Annual CT Technology Council Women of Innovation awards ceremony! Read more about UConn's honorees here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Nisha Mahely travels to Omaha, NE to present her work on\u00a0Staphylococcus aureus\u00a0<\/em>persisters at the 9<\/span>th<\/sup> International Conference on Gram-Positive Pathogens!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

September 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our postdoc, Dr. Nisha Mahey, gave a Speak4Science talk and presented her work at the annual Postdoc Research Day!<\/p>\n

Trish Hare presented her work at the International Biennial\u00a0Pseudomonas\u00a0<\/em>Conference.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

August 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jonathan Batchelder presented his work and Trish Hare gave her Lepow Award lecture at the 41st annual Graduate Student Research Day!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

July 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

Patricia Hare and Travis LaGree presented their work at meetings this month. Travis presented his work at the\u00a0Clinical and Scientific Advances in <\/span>Urinary Tract Infections (CSAUTI) meeting and <\/span>Trish gave a talk at the GRC on Microbial Stress Response.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Our summer student Nathaniel Rodney presented his work on building biosensors at the Summer Research Fellowship Program poster symposium. Thanks to UConn Health's Health Care Opportunity Programs (HCOP) for supporting his work!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

June 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jonathan Batchelder and Angela Power presented their work at conferences this month. Jonathan gave talks on his Staphylococcus aureus\u00a0<\/em>metabolism and antibiotic susceptibility project at the Gordon Research Conference and Seminar on Drug Resistance in Rhode Island. Angie traveled to Denmark and presented her work on S. aureus\u00a0<\/em>biofilms and antibiotic tolerance at the Eurobiofilms 2024 meeting.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We welcome our summer researcher Nathaniel Rodney and MD-PhD rotation student Ariana Fantasia-Davis to our lab!<\/p>\n

May 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

We presented our work at the Molecular Biology & Biophysics departmental retreat at Hill-Stead Museum. Angela Power received a first prize for her poster presentation. Go Angie!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a>\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Mok Lab receives funding from the NIH to support our work on the impact of infection site metabolites on the antibiotic persistence of gram-negative pathogens!<\/p>\n

Congratulations to Dr. Brandon Byrd, our lab's first doctoral student, on receiving his MD-Ph.D.! Brandon, best of luck on your OBGYN residency!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Nisha Mahey, joins our lab. Welcome Nisha!<\/p>\n

March 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

Congratulations to Trish Hare for winning the 3rd Annual MBB SciArt Contest! \u00a0Check out Trish's photo-tryptych entitled \"eDNA Zoo.\" Can you spot the creatures in the \"zoo?\" Thanks to Dr. Irina Bezsonova for organizing this annual contest.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Our postbac, Jay Gonz\u00e1<\/span><\/span>lez, presented her work on Pseudomonas aeruginosa<\/em> antibiotic susceptibility\u00a0at the Pioneer Valley Microbiology Symposium at UMass Amherst!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

2023<\/h3>\n

August 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

Members of the Mok Lab had a great time at UConn Health's 40th annual Graduate Student Research Day! Patricia Hare won the Lepow Award for outstanding fourth-year student, Angela Power won the Biomedical Science Service Award in Mentorship, and Travis LaGree represented our Area of Concentration in the student talks (and also won a raffle). Jonathan Batchelder, Trish, and Angie also presented their work at the event. Looking forward to the next GSRD!<\/p>\n

Congratulations to Ph.D. candidate Travis LaGree for being awarded an NIH F31 grant from NIDDK to support his doctoral research! Go Travis!<\/p>\n

DMD-Ph.D. candidate Patricia Hare travels to Madison, Wisconsin for the 2023 Molecular Genetics of Bacteria and Phages Meeting, where she presented her work on\u00a0P. aeruginosa\u00a0<\/em>persistence.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

July 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

DMD-Ph.D. candidate Patricia Hare was awarded an NIH F30 grant from NIDCR to support her research and training. Go Trish!<\/p>\n

Jonathan traveled to the University of Nebraska Medical Center for the Essentials of Staphylococcal Genetics & Metabolism Workshop and learned a tonne!
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As we bid goodbye to our postbac, Ryan Quelle, who will be heading off to dental school at Tufts University, we welcome two new(ish) faces. Andrew Taylor, who was with us when he was in high school, returns as a summer undergraduate researcher. Juliet Gonz\u00e1lez also joins us as a post-baccalaureate researcher. Good luck Ryan and welcome (back) Andrew and Juliet!<\/p>\n

May-June 2023<\/strong>
\nMembers of our lab have been traveling to conferences across the country! Travis Lagree presented his work at AIChE Synthetic Biology Engineering Evolution Design (SEED) meeting in Los Angeles in May, Angie DeMarco gave a flash talk at ASM Microbe in Houston, and Wendy presented her lab's work at the Bacterial Cell Biology and Development GRC.<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

April 2023<\/strong>
\nCongratulations to our undergraduate student, Stephanie Schofield, for being awarded a Fulbright Study\/Research Grant! Steph will be heading to Heidelberg, Germany this Fall to work toward developing innovative models for a neurodevelopmental disorder. <\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

March 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jonathan and Ryan present their work at the Pioneer Valley Microbiology Symposium at UMass Amherst!<\/p>\n

2022<\/h3>\n

July 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

DMD-Ph.D. student Patricia Hare was selected to give a talk on \"Leveraging Probiotic <\/span>Escherichia coli <\/em>Nissle 1917 to Hinder Levofloxacin Persister Resuscitation\" at the Gordon Research Seminar on Microbial Stress Response and\u00a0presents her work at the GRC! Go Trish!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jonathan Batchelder officially joins our lab as a Ph.D. student!<\/p>\n

Ryan Quelle joins our lab as a post-baccalaureate researcher. Welcome Ryan!<\/p>\n

June 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wendy gives a talk entitled \"Leveraging Bacterial Vulnerabilities to Bolster the Efficacy of Topoisomerase Inhibitors\" at the Gordon Research Conference on Drug Resistance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trish represented the UConn Dental School and participated in the Oral Health Sciences Graduate Programs in a Future and Diverse Workforce Symposium at the University of Michigan!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Wendy gives a talk on bolstering the efficacy of topoisomerase inhibitors against antibiotic tolerant bacteria at the 50th Annual American Society for Chemistry Middle Atlantic Region Meeting (ACS-MARM) at The College of New Jersey!<\/p>\n

May 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

First year Ph.D. student Jonathan Batchelder joins our lab for his rotation. Welcome Jonathan!<\/p>\n

Undergraduate student Stephanie Schofield receives a UConn Undergraduate Summer Research Fund (SURF) Award for her summer project. Congratulations Steph!<\/p>\n

March 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brandon successfully defended his thesis as his labmates along with other friends and family cheered him on. Congratulations Dr. Byrd!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Undergraduate student Steph Schofield represents UConn and presents her research at the inaugural BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium at Madison Square Garden! Go Steph and Go Huskies!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Angie, Travis and Steph present their work at the Pioneer Valley Microbiology Symposium at UMass Amherst!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

February 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Mok Lab virtually visited the Healthcare Occupations and Professionals in Education (HOPE) Club at South Windsor High and spoke with the students about\u00a0our research and careers. Thanks Tracy and Vineet for the invitation!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

2021<\/h3>\n

October 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

Undergraduate student Stephanie Schofield presents her summer project at UConn's Fall Frontiers<\/span> Undergraduate Research Poster Exhibition<\/a>!<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Mok Lab receives the NIH Director's New Innovator Award for our research on Mapping Microbial Interactions that Modulate Antibiotic Persistence! Read more about it here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"NIH<\/p>\n

July 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our lab welcomes four rising seniors from Farmington High for their two-week internship through MBB's Cutting Edge program. Led by their fearless leader, Brandon Byrd, the team learned fundamental microbiology and microbial genetic techniques while finding out what's on their hands and phones!<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

June 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

A few of us gave talks this month: Angie delivered a talk\u00a0on her rotation work with Dr. Peter Setlow at the New York Bacillus Interest Group (NYBIG) meeting; Wendy delivered a<\/span> plenary talk in the Cytometry in Antimicrobial Resistance session at the International Society for Advancement of Cytometry meeting; and\u00a0Brandon\u00a0presented his work on Delafloxacin persisters at the Boston Bacterial Meeting (BBM).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

June 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dental students Mishil Nana and Ryan Higgins join us for their summer projects. Welcome Mishil and Ryan!<\/p>\n

May 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

UConn undergrad Stephanie Schofield joins our lab as a Health Research Program researcher (https:\/\/ugradresearch.uconn.edu\/hrp\/). Welcome Steph!<\/p>\n

May 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

Travis LaGree and Angie DeMarco officially join our lab for their Ph.D. studies!<\/p>\n

May 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

After two years in our lab, undergrad Hanna Englander successfully completes her honours thesis and graduates from UConn. Congrats Hanna! We wish you the best of luck as you prepare for your postbac adventures at the NIH later this summer.<\/p>\n

April 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

Undergrad Hanna Englander presents an Early Career Lightning Talk on her thesis project at this year's American Society for Microbiology (ASM) DC Branch Spring Meeting!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

January 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

Members of the Mok Lab participated in the CT Science Center's Virtual STEM Career Showcase for middle and high school students in the area. Thanks to the grad students from UConn Health's Young Explorers in Science (YES!) program for coordinating this event. Check out this video that students in our lab has put together. Many thanks to all of our lab's participants, especially our directors\/ producers Trish and Brandon.<\/p>\n

\nhttps:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/mok-lab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2021\/01\/Meet-the-Mok-lab..mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

January 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

Angela (\"Angie\") DeMarco starts her Ph.D. rotation in our lab, and DMD-Ph.D. student Patricia (\"Trish\") Hare officially starts her doctoral studies with us. Welcome Angie and Trish!<\/p>\n

2020<\/h3>\n

November 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wendy gives a talk at the NIH Lambda Lunch and in UConn's Department of Molecular and Cell Biology seminar series.<\/p>\n

September 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

Postdoc Maria Rocha receives a third place prize at the UConn Health\/Jax Postdoc Research Day Speak4Science event! Congrats Maria!<\/span><\/p>\n

September 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

Travis LaGree joins our lab as a Ph.D. program rotation student. Welcome Travis!<\/p>\n

August 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

Isabella Gregor joins our lab as a research student. Welcome Isabella!<\/p>\n

July 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Mok Lab receives a Child Health Research Grant from the Charles H. Hood Foundation!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

June 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

DMD-Ph.D. student Patricia Hare joins our lab for her rotation. Welcome Trish!<\/p>\n

April 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

Undergraduate researcher Hanna Englander receives a UConn Undergraduate Summer Research Fund (SURF) Award for her summer project. Check out her interview on UConn Today<\/a>. Congratulations Hanna!<\/p>\n

February 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

UConn Microbiome Research Seed Grants funds our collaborative project with the Wright Lab @ UConn's School of Pharmacy!<\/p>\n

January 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Mok Lab goes to the Pioneer Valley!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Our lab participated in the annual Pioneer Valley Microbiology Symposium. Maria, Brandon, Blesing, and Hanna presented their posters at the event, and Wendy gave a talk. We were delighted to meet fellow microbiology researchers in the area and learn about all of the exciting research going on in the region. Thanks to the students at UMass Amherst for organizing this incredible meeting!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

2019<\/h3>\n

November 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brandon officially joins our lab!<\/p>\n

November 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wendy gives a talk titled \"Deciphering the survival strategies of bacterial persisters\" in UConn's Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science's seminar series.<\/p>\n

August 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brandon Byrd joins our lab as a rotation student. Welcome Brandon!<\/p>\n

June 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alyssa Matz joins our lab as a summer rotation student. Welcome Alyssa!<\/p>\n

May 2019<\/strong>
\nBlesing Zenick (a recent UConn graduate) and Hanna Englander (a UConn rising junior) join the lab. Welcome Blesing and Hanna!<\/p>\n

April 2019<\/strong>
\nDr. Maria Rocha Granados joins the lab. Welcome Maria!<\/p>\n

January 2019<\/strong>
\nThe Mok Lab is officially in operation. New members are welcome.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

News 2026 March 2026 Postdoc Dr. Ranjuna Weerasekera presented his work on uropathogenic\u00a0E. coli antibiotic tolerance at the ASBMB annual meeting in Washington D.C. February 2026 YIIP Scholar Nathaniel Rodney joins our lab. Welcome back, Nathaniel! January 2026 Postdoc Jonathan Batchelder presents his work on Staphylococcus aureus persister resuscitation at the inaugural ASM\/IDSA Interdisciplinary Meeting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-blank.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-12 23:19:24","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/mok-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/63"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/mok-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/mok-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/mok-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/mok-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63"}],"version-history":[{"count":123,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/mok-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/63\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":542,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/mok-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/63\/revisions\/542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/mok-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}