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Hans Wildschutte, PhD

Program: Molecular Virology and Microbiology
Graduated: 12/2006
Mentor: Dr. Jeffrey Lawrence
Thesis:
Protozoan Predation and O-Antigen Diversity Among Salmonella

Previous Institutions Attended:
University of Pittsburgh, BS in Biological Sciences Duquesne University, MA in Biology

I am a Postdoctoral Associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) working in the laboratory of Dr. Polz. In the Polz lab we use environmental isolates of Vibrio species as a tool to investigate genomic diversity as well as distribution of these organisms in certain environments.

Fellowships, Awards, Promotions:

NIH Training Grant

American Association for the Advancement of Science Award

Graduate Student Most Significant First Author Paper Award

Best Research in Progress Presentation Award

Publications while a graduate student at Pitt:

Wildschutte H and Lawrence JG. Differential Salmonella Survival Against Communities of Intestinal Amoebae. Submitted to Microbiology.

Wildschutte H, Wolfe DM, Tamewitz A, and Lawrence JG. Protozoan predation, diversifying selection, and the evolution of antigenic diversity in Salmonella. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2004 Jul 20; 101(29):10644-9.

Guillot J, Demanche C, Norris K, Wildschutte H, Wanert F, Berthelemy M, Tataine S, Dei-Cas E, Chermette R. Phylogenetic relationships among Pneumocystis from Asian macaques inferred from mitochondrial rRNA sequences. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2004 Jun;31(3):988-96.

What did you enjoy most about your research experiences and graduate studies here at Pitt?
The aspect that I enjoyed the most while at the University of Pittsburgh was the very balanced learning experience I received. The beginning of graduate school was filled with the appropriate amount of classes which lead into the comprehensive exam and then into research. Along the way, journal clubs and local, as well as national, meetings provided ample opportunities to meet well established scientists during my graduate career. In addition, the atmosphere in the MVM program was relaxed yet goal oriented. Faculty care about you as a student and the progress you make towards achieving your goals. The atmosphere around Pitt’s campus was also outstanding which made it an enjoyable place to learn.

What did you find to be personally rewarding in the work you did while here at Pitt or in the work in which you are currently involved?
I found the work I did at the University of Pittsburgh to be rewarding because I was testing a new idea. This meant thinking of concepts differently, coming up with ways to test them, and interpreting the results. Both ideas and experiments were novel. I found this to be the most rewarding because this process made me think of things differently and always question results and what they may mean. Furthermore, professors, as well as students, were always available to bounce ideas off of just to make sure that my train of thought made sense. My entire learning experience at Pitt was rewarding- from the lab I worked in to the program I joined.

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