Eric Kees Email & Phone Number

Saint Paul, Mn, Us

Plymouth, Mn

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

Microbial physiology and ecology applied to extreme photoautotrophy. Primary focus: Cyanobacteria in Yellowstone hot springs. Primary skills: Bioinformatics (metagenomics, taxonomic profiling; bash scripting, R, python), thermophilic cyanobacteria culture, field sampling.

St Paul, Minnesota, United States

Advisor: Jeffrey A. GralnickRespiratory physiology of metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis using engineered strains. Specific topics include periplasmic flavin cofactor acquisition, survival under respiratory starvation, and competition among obligate biofilm cultures.Key responsibilities: Anaerobic bacterial culture, transposon mutagenesis, bioinformatic analysis of high-throughput sequence data, genetic engineering via conjugation and homologous recombination, strain optimization, anoxic continuous-flow and batch bioreactor construction and operation, flow cytometry, confocal microscopy of biofilms, PCR, RT-qPCR, Tn-Seq, gel electrophoresis, kinetics assays, method automation, cell culture, strain maintenance. Mentorship and technical leadership of undergraduate researchers in experimental design, hypothesis testing, and application of molecular and analytical techniques. Scientific communication via technical reports, group meetings, journal articles, and presentations at regional and national conferences. Grant writing. National and international collaboration with scientists.

Research into inflammatory responses during neuroborreliosis in human tissue cultures. Primary skills: RT-qPCR, ELISA.

Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States

Assisted with research involving ultrastructural pathology of diabetes in the kidney. Played a significant role streamlining morphometric analysis techniques by developing a Python program and formula-rich excel spreadsheets.Managed a digital imaging lab, and instructed professors, lab technicians and graduate students in the use of digital imaging equipment. Developed protocols for image management and archiving. Techniques: Morphometric analysis of electron micrographs, animal husbandry, vascular perfusion of mice, and ELISA. Automation of image analysis workflows in Adobe Photoshop. Image archiving in Adobe Lightroom.

Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States

Research into the ontribution of metallothionein to Adriamycin (Doxorubicin HCl) induced ultrastructural kidney damage mitigation, using a genetically engineered mouse strain and its background. Key Responsibilities and skills: Transmission electron microscopy, tissue fixation and staining, animal husbandry, drug delivery to mice, vascular perfusion of mice, lead citrate and osmium tetrachloride tissue staining, ultramicrotome sectioning, electron micrograph film development, morphometric analysis of electron micrographs, and ELISA.

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd, Microbiology

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Biology/Biological Sciences, General

Activities and Societies: Honors Program