Principal Investigator
Dr. Daniel Paredes-Sabja is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at Texas A&M University. His research focuses on understanding the fundamental mechanisms that enable enteropathogens to persist in the gastrointestinal tract, with the goal of developing effective therapeutics to combat this persistence. Daniel earned his Ph.D. from Oregon State University, where he also completed his postdoctoral training.
Research Assistant Scientist
Dr. Marjorie Pizarro-Guajardo is a Research Assistant Scientist focused on understanding how Clostridioides difficile forms different exosporium layers, which protect bacterial spores and contribute to the pathogen’s survival and virulence. Her work aims to uncover key mechanisms behind spore formation to identify new therapeutic targets. Dr. Pizarro-Guajardo is also leading the development of vaccine prototypes to prevent C. difficile infections. She earned her Ph.D. in Biotechnology from Universidad Andrés Bello.
Graduate Students
Osiris K. López García is a 5th year Genetics Ph.D. Candidate in the Interdisciplinary Program of Genetics and Genomics at Texas A&M University. Her research focuses on the interactions between the exosporium of Clostridioides difficile and the host. She received her bachelor’s degree in Industrial Microbiology at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez.
Javier Sanchez-Peralta is a 5th year Microbiology PhD Candidate student in the Department of Biology at Texas A&M University. Javier is studying how cysteine-rich proteins govern the assembly of the exosporium layer in C. difficile spores. He is also developing TEM and Cryo-EM techniques to gain ultrastructural insight of the role of these proteins in spore surface assembly. He earned his undergraduate degree in Biology at Texas A&M University.
Francisca Cid-Rojas is a 4th year Microbiology Ph.D Candidate in the Department of Biology at Texas A&M University. She is currently studying exosporium assembly and the interaction of its components within Clostridioides difficile’s spore. Before joining TAMU, Francisca received her undergraduate degree at Universidad Andrés Bello.
Trey Hejtmancik is a 2nd year Microbiology PhD Student in the Department of Biology. He is currently studying the role of toxins in C. difficile pathogenesis and recurrence using mice models. He received is undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University.