UCF Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences
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Education
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2017- 2022 Post Doctoral Fellow, The University of Texas at Austin, Davies Lab
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2014-2017 PhD University of South Florida
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2009-2014 BS University of South Florida
Awards
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2017 Outstanding Research Award, University of South Florida
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2018 Outstanding Dissertation Award, University of South Florida
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2021 NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) - Converted in 2023 to the R00 phase
Google Scholar: Renee Fleeman
Principle Investigator
Current Lab members
Research associates/assistants:
Robert Beckman
Robert is a senior at the University of Central Florida majoring in Health Sciences on the Pre-Clinical Track. He has experience working as a Laboratory Technician in a Chemistry Teaching Laboratory. Robert is currently an Emergency Medical Technician and plans on applying to medical school with the hopes of becoming an Interventional Cardiologist. He enjoys playing hickory golf, collecting vinyl records, and reading.
Kaitlin Crofton
Kaitlin is a recent graduate from Rollins College majoring in biology. She did three projects during her undergraduate studies focusing on cellular conjugation, drug therapies for oral bacteria, and neurological cargo identification. Kaitlin hopes to pursue biology academia through a PhD program with the goal of becoming a professor. In her free time she likes crocheting, playing or listening to music, and reading.
Graduate students:
Christina DeBarro
Christina joined the lab in January 2023 as a PhD student after working 5 years as a research assistant for Nemours Children's Hospital. She graduated in 2020 with B.S in Biomedical Science from the Burnett Honors College at the University of Central Florida, and in 2022 with an MBA. Christina is interested in hijacking and disrupting bacterial defense mechanisms in the hope to develop new therapeutics to target them as well as the exploring the relevance of the human microbiome and its importance on different parts of the human body. She enjoys videogames, Dungeons and Dragons, and target shooting in her free time.
Ridhwana Appiah
Ridhwana is currently studying MS. Biotechnology with an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Ridhwana is interested in host-pathogen interactions and hopes to pursue a Ph.D. after graduation to explore and develop next-generation therapeutics for multi-drug resistant pathogens. She enjoys spending time in art galleries and trying new recipes.
Makayla Gossett
Makayla is a student in the biomedical sciences PhD program at the University of Central Florida. She has two years of research experience studying the evolution of pathogenicity in Vibrio species and is interested in continuing to study the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis, especially in relation to bacterial interactions with host immune components. In her free time, Makayla enjoys playing video games, reading, and crocheting.
Undergraduate students:
Dylan Payne
Dylan Payne is a freshman at the University of Central Florida majoring in Biomedical Sciences. He has experience working as a plasma processing technician and is passionate about research and scientific advocacy. After graduating, he hopes to pursue an MD/PhD to combine patient care with biomedical research. In his free time, Dylan enjoys playing football and basketball, exploring the outdoors, and playing board games.
Previous Lab members
Research Associates/Assistants:
Laura de los Santos
Jeremy Sheiber
Abdullah Saqib
Graduates students:
Undergraduates:
Omar Elsayed
James Fields
Sofia Angeloff