People

Principal Investigator

Dr. Sergio Muñoz-Gómez
samunozg{at}purdue[dot]edu

EMBO Postdoctoral Fellow (2021-2022), Université Paris-Saclay, France.
Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2013-2018), Dalhousie University, Canada.
B.Sc. Honors in Biology (2007-2013), Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia.

Sergio is an evolutionary microbiologist and cell biologist whose main interests revolve around the origin and diversification of eukaryotic cells and their symbiotic organelles. See my CV here.

Postdoctoral Researchers

Dr. Shahed U. A. Shazib
sshazib{at}purdue[dot]edu

Postdoctoral Scholar (2022-2023), The Ohio State University, USA.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2020-2022), Smith College, USA.
Research Professor (2017-2020), University of Ulsan, South Korea.
Ph.D in Biology (2011-2017), University of Ulsan, South Korea.
B.Sc & M.Sc in Microbiology (2006-2010), University of Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Shahed is an evolutionary cell biologist. His research aims to explicate the evolution of eukaryotes, and microbial interactions through single-cell omics and phylogenetic reconstruction. At the ECSO lab, Shahed will work on the origin and evolution of eukaryotes and their organelles. See Dr. Shazib’s personal website here.

Dr. Dongseok Kim
kim4472{at}purdue[dot]edu

M.Sc & Ph.D in Biological Sciences (2017-2023), University of Sungkyunkwan, South Korea.
B.Sc. in Biological Sciences and Computer Engineering (2010-2017), University of Sungkyunkwan, South Korea.

Dongseok is an evolutionary biologist with a primary focus on unraveling the evolutionary questions of eukaryotic cells. His research encompasses a wide range of techniques, including genomics and various wet laboratory experiments, all aimed at addressing fundamental questions related to the origin of life and the evolution of complex cellular structures. See Dr. Kim’s CV here.

Dr. Sandra Gomez Gutierrez
sgomezgu{at}purdue[dot]edu

Ph.D. in Plant Pathology – Concentration in Computation for Life Science (2019-2025), Purdue University, USA.
B.Sc. in Agronomic Engineering (2013-2018), Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia.

Sandra is a plant pathologist and computational biologist with a primary interest in studying the evolutionary history of nascent genes and their implications for adaptation in microbial populations. At the ECSO Lab, she will investigate the energetic costs associated with the origin of new genes to better understand the short- and long-term evolutionary consequences of increased cellular complexity.

Graduate Students

Ella Stone, B.Sc.
egstone{at}purdue[dot]edu

B.Sc. in Microbiology with Honors (2020-2024), Purdue University, USA.

Ella is a microbiologist whose research focuses on the costs and benefits of phagocytosis in prokaryotic versus eukaryotic cells. She’s very excited to learn a large variety of new techniques in the ECSO lab. Outside of the lab, she loves to rock climb, play board games, and chill with her two cats.

Betsy Varghese, B.Sc.
bvarghe{at}purdue[dot]edu

Purdue University (2023 - Present)
Ivy Tech Community College (2021 - 2022)

Joey Jen, M.Sc.
jen10{at}purdue[dot]edu

B.Sc. in Life Science (2014-2018), National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan M.Sc. in Molecular and Cellular Biology (2018-2021), National Taiwan University, Taiwan

Our life evolves like species evolve across the landscape of fitness. There are life events that changed my trajectory, like mutations that force species to adapt. After several years of exploration, I am now at Purdue - come chat with me if you are interested in my research interests.

Undergraduate Students

Allison Clark
clark870{at}purdue[dot]edu

Purdue University (2024 - Present)

Sebastian Correa
scorreag{at}purdue[dot]edu

B.Sc. in Biology (2022–2026), Universidad EAFIT, Colombia

Sebastian is a Biology undergraduate working as a Research Intern at the ECSO Lab. His research explores microbial ecology, particularly how extremophilic microorganisms adapt under nutrient-limited conditions. At ECSO, he studies mitochondrial proteome allocation in osmotrophic eukaryotes. He aims to deepen our fundamental understanding of cell evolution while also contributing toward solutions for pressing human health challenges.

Former Lab Members

Dr. Megan Sorensen
Postdoctoral Researcher

Matheus Sanita Lima, M.Sc.
Visiting Ph.D. Student
msanital{at}purdue[dot]edu

Oakley Harrison, B.Sc.
Undergraduate Student
oaharris{at}purdue[dot]edu

Penelope Vu, M.Sc.
Research Technician
vu22{at}purdue[dot]edu

Konrad Schwartz, B.Sc.
Research Technician
schwarkc{at}purdue[dot]edu