Meet the Faculty of the UW Master’s in Applied Biotechnology
Meet the Faculty
Natalie Betz, PhD Academic Director UW–Madison
Faculty Associate
Expertise: Science, business, regulatory, and legal aspects of biotechnology
PhD, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Tyler Buddell, PhD UW-Platteville
Program Specialist, Biology
Expertise: Genetics, Heart Disease, Neurobiology, Molecular Biology, Genetic variants, Mouse models, Cell culture
Courses taught: ABT 700, ABT 765, ABT 780
PhD, UW-Milwaukee
Yury Bukhman, PhD UW-Platteville
Program Specialist, Biology
Expertise: Computational Biology, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, statistical analysis, machine learning, data visualization.
Courses taught: ABT 780
PhD, The Johns Hopkins University
Diane Caporale, PhD UW-Stevens Point
Emeritus Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics
Expertise: Molecular biology, gene expression, tick-borne pathogens, human genetics
Courses taught: ABT 710
PhD, University of New Hampshire
Grace Christensen, MS UW-Green Bay
Adjunct Professor
Expertise: Plant biotechnology and regulations related to genetically engineered crops
Courses taught: ABT 745
MS, UW-Madison
Kris Curran, PhD Academic Director UW–Whitewater
Professor, Biology Department
Expertise: Developmental biology, role of circadian genes in embryonic development
PhD, University of Virginia
Ilirian Dhimitruka, PhD Academic Director UW-Parkside
Associate Professor, Organic Chemistry
Expertise: Development of molecular sensors and related spectroscopic protocols for the assessment of cellular acidity, oxygenation, and reactive oxygen species.
Courses taught: ABT 715
PhD, Wayne State University
Steve Dunn, PhD Academic Director UW–Oshkosh
Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Enterprise, College of Business
Expertise: Supply chain and sustainability management.
Courses taught: ABT 725
PhD, Pennsylvania State University
Stella Dunn, MBA UW–Oshkosh
Lecturer, College of Business
Expertise: Cultural and organizational context of leadership
Courses taught: ABT 725
MBA, UW-Oshkosh
Lisa Grubisha, PhD Academic Director UW-Green Bay
Associate Professor, Biology, Natural & Applied Sciences Department
Expertise: Molecular microbial ecology, mycorrhizal symbioses, and molecular ecology of orchids and their mycorrhizal fungal symbionts, wild rice, and common reed grass
PhD, University of California-Berkeley
Raghava Gundala, PhD UW-Parkside
Associate Professor, Business Department
Expertise: Global Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Consumer Behavior, and New Product Development
Courses taught: ABT 750
PhD, Berhampur University
Ryan Haasl, PhD UW-Platteville
Professor, Biology
Expertise: Evolutionary genetics, paleobiology, computational statistics, scientific programming
Courses taught: ABT 780
PhD, UW-Madison
Jeff Hahn, JD UW–Whitewater
Lecturer, College of Business
Expertise: Commercial Law and Business Start-ups
Courses taught: ABT 745
JD, University of Louisville
Rebecca Koch, PhD UW-Stevens Point
Assistant Professor, Biology
Expertise: Behavioral ecology, genetics, mitochondrial biology
Courses taught: ABT 789, ABT 790
PhD, Auburn University
Garrison (Sonny) Komaniecki, PhD UW-Parkside
Assistant Professor, Chemistry
Expertise: Biochemistry, protein lipidation, bacterial toxins, biorthogonal chemistry
Courses taught: ABT 715
PhD, Cornell University
Robert Kuzoff, PhD UW–Whitewater
Professor, Biology Department, Computer Science Department
Expertise: Variation in human genomes, transcriptomes, and proteomes. Variation in viral and bacterial pathogens and its consequences for virulence properties
Courses taught: ABT 720, ABT 730, ABT 775
PhD, Washington State University
Emily Lou LaMartina, PhD UW-Parkside
Adjunct Faculty, Chemistry
Expertise: Genomics, microbial ecology, antibiotic resistance, bioinformatics
Courses taught: ABT 785
PhD, UW-Milwaukee
Mark Levenstein, PhD Academic Director UW-Platteville
Associate Professor, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
Expertise: Molecular biology, biotechnology, stem cell biology,
Courses taught: ABT 700, ABT 765
PhD, University of California-San Diego
Francis Mann, PhD UW-Parkside
Adjunct Professor, Chemistry
Expertise: Application of microbial metabolism for generation of bioactive natural products and upcycled chemicals, intellectual property development, licensing, and acquisition in the natural products, fragrance, dye, and enzyme spaces.
Courses taught: ABT 715
PhD, Iowa State University
Joshua Morelock, MS UW-Green Bay
Lecturer, College of Business
Expertise: Quality assurance and regulatory compliance
Courses taught: ABT 745
MS, UW-Madison
Kiel Nikolakakis, PhD UW-Green Bay
Assistant Teaching Professor, Chemistry Department
Expertise: Protein biochemistry, microbiology, analytical chemistry, cell culture, impacts of microbial communities on plant growth
Courses taught: ABT 705
PhD, University of California-Santa Barbara
Michael O'Connor, PhD UW-Platteville
Adjunct Instructor, Business Online Academic Programs
Expertise: Project Management, Program Management, Product Development, Remediation, Agile, Technology.
Courses taught: ABT 735, ABT 760
PhD, University of Maryland-College Park
David Olson, PhD UW-Platteville
Professor, Biology
Expertise: Developmental biology, genetic control of the neural muscular junction, product development
Courses taught: ABT 700
PhD, UW-Madison
Hasti Rahemi, PhD UW–Whitewater
Assistant Professor, Information Technology and Supply Chain Management
Expertise: Supply chain management, humanitarian and non-profit organizations, game theory, behavioral operations methods
Courses taught: ABT 755
PhD, University Colorado Boulder
Golya Shahrokhi, PhD UW-Platteville
Program Specialist, Biology
Expertise: Molecular biology, Genomics, Bioinformatics, Shell Scripting
Courses taught: ABT 700
PhD, University of Oklahoma
Michael Steury, PhD Academic Director UW-Stevens Point
Associate Professor, Biology
Expertise: Microbiome inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune disorders and physiology education
Courses taught: ABT 710, ABT 789, ABT 790
PhD, Michigan State University
Kevin Stindt, PhD UW-Stevens Point
Assistant Professor, Biochemistry
Expertise: Prokaryotic and eukaryotic molecular biology, Dynamic cell systems ODE modeling, Genetic engineering, Fluorescence microscopy
Courses taught: ABT 789, ABT 790
PhD, UW-Madison
Muthu Venkateshwaran, PhD UW-Platteville
Professor, Crop Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology
Expertise: Plant-microbe symbioses (legume-rhizobia symbiosis, arbuscular mycorrhization and ectomycorrhization), plant defense signaling, plant disease management, rhizosphere microbiome and sustainable agricultural practices
Courses taught: ABT 700
PhD, UW-Madison
Jiayyan (Jay) Zhang, PhD UW–Whitewater
Assistant Professor, Information Technology and Supply Chain Management
Expertise: Supply chain sustainability, purchasing, outsourcing decisions
Courses taught: ABT 755
PhD, University of Rhode Island