Sandra McLellan

Professor

mclellan@uwm.edu

The major research focus of my laboratory is to investigate the connections between environmental processes and human health. Urban coastal areas are greatly impacted by pollution sources including stormwater runoff and sewage overflows. Oftentimes, pathogens are present that can contaminate our beaches and drinking water supplies. The overall goal of our research is understand pathogen fate in large freshwater systems such as the Great Lakes, and develop new approaches for assessing pollution sources so that strategies can be devised to protect the Great Lakes and human health. Click for more information about Sandra

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Melissa Schussman

Lab Manager

schussm2@uwm.edu

I’m a research specialist and lab manager in our highly collaborative lab. Much of the work I handle, is done jointly with the WI DHS, the Milwaukee Sewerage District,  and others working to develop and refine wastewater surveillance techniques.

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Kieyarrah  Dennis

Graduate Student

kjdennis@uwm.edu

I am a graduate research assistant in the McLellan lab with a focus in multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). I am currently working on identifying viable ARG targets to then observe their population variability in MDROs in the environment. I have also done E. coli source tracking in Laguna Bacalar in Bacalar, Mexico as an extension of the McLellan lab. I received my B.A. in Biochemistry and History from the College of Saint Benedict.

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Sophia Ward

Graduate Student

ward78@uwm.edu

I am a graduate research assistant in the McLellan lab studying freshwater beach ecosystems. I am particularly interested in characterizing the nutrient profiles of Wisconsin beach sand and continuing research on how nutrients affect E. coli survival in the sand. I received my B.S. in biology and Certificate in environmental studies from UW-Madison. Now I am working towards my M.S. in freshwater science.

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Brenden Nihart

Graduate Student

bjnihart@uwm.edu

I am a graduate project assistant in the McLellan lab studying freshwater ecosystems and contaminants. I am particularly interested in source-tracking contaminants in our freshwater systems and my background is in Hydrology and Microbiology. I received my B.S. in Biological sciences from UW-Milwaukee. I am currently working towards my M.S. in freshwater sciences.

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Melinda Bootsma

Chemist

bootsma@uwm.edu

I am a chemist in the McLellan lab and validate/run qPCR assays on a variety of projects that track host-associated bacterial markers in the environment. Additionally, I train incoming students and other laboratory personnel on the qPCR assays we use in the lab. Prepping lab samples for high-throughput sequencing is also a regular activity.

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Patricia Bower

Research Technician

pbower@uwm.edu

I am a research technician in Mclellan lab.  I have a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and I’m semi-retired.  My lab duties are predominantly involved with molecular biology methods such as cloning and qPCR/digital drop PCR technologies.  I am involved in the development of new molecular biology procedures and trouble shoot procedures pertaining to molecular biological techniques.  I am also responsible for the biological and chemical safety issues in the lab.

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Former Lab Members

Deb Dila	Elexius (Lexi) Passante – Stormwater Specialist, WI DNR	Brigid Meyers – Watershed Program Coordinator,  Sweet Water
Adelaide Roguet – Scientist, Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene	Shuchen Feng – Postdoc Researcher, Northwestern University	Autumn Saunders -Research technician, Marquette University
Natalie Rumball – Scientist, PSN Labs	Emily Koster	Jill McClary-Gutierrez – Postdoc Researcher, University of Notre Dame, NSF Research Coordination Network
Ryan Bartelme – Postdoc Researcher, Univ of Arizona, Soil, Water and Enviromental Science	Alexis McAdams – Research Analyst at Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission	Patrick Siwula – Field Scientist at Terracon Consultants
Katie Halmo – Master’s program, Univ of Colorado, Sustainable Agriculture	Danielle Cloutier – Policy Director for American Sportfishing Association (ASA)	Jen Fisher – Assistant Professor at Indiana University Northwest
Hayley Templar – Hydrologist with U.S. Geological Survey	Morgan Schroeder – Bioinformatician at Stowers Institute for Medical Research	Kristina Surfus – Legislative Director for National Association of Clean Water Agencies
Chelsea Corson – Project Manager at Drake Environmental Consulting	Marcia Silva – Facility Manager at Water Technology Accelerator (Global Water Center)	Amber Koskey – Epidemiologist at Minnesota Dept. of Public Health
Ian DeTunq – Associate Scientist at Luminex Corp.	Beth Sauer – Supervisor at Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District	Keri Lydon
Caleb Abfall – School of Dentistry Marquette University	Kendra Dahmer