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Meet Our Team
Vanja Klepac-Ceraj, Ph.D.
I am an Associate Professor in Biological Sciences at Wellesley College. My lab investigates the impact of diversity, dynamics, and functions of microbial communities on human and environmental health over space and time. I earned my B.S. in Mathematics and Molecular Biology from Beloit College and a Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from the MIT-WHOI Joint Program. I completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School, before starting the VKC Microbial Ecology Lab at Wellesley.
Guilherme Fahur Bottino, Ph.D.
I am a Bioinformatician employing Machine Learning to investigate the complex relationships between the gut microbiome and cognitive development, building predictive models that help improve human health. I started my career on the University of Campinas, Brazil, where I obtained my Ph.D. in Chemistry using neural network tools to build 3D protein models, and joined the VKC lab in 2022 to employ my AI knowledge on the lab projects.
Shelley Hoeft McCann, M.Sc.
I am a microbial ecologist with experience in marine microbiology and trace metal biogeochemistry. I earned a M.S. in Oceanography from the University of Connecticut where I studied methyl bromide metabolism by marine microbes and microbial sulfur cycling in stromatolites. From there I moved west to the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, CA where my work focused on the biogeochemistry of Mono Lake, CA. After enjoying many sunny years in CA, I’m happy to back on the east coast and working in the VKC lab at Wellesley. I’m excited for the opportunity to explore microbial ecology in New England biomes, to expand my experience to the human microbiome, and to share my knowledge and love of growing anaerobes.
Aeka Tomita
I am chemistry major and my project is purely computational - I study the infant gut microbiome and its role in a child's healthy development. I am currently in pre-health, but after college, I am open to working in any field that helps advance or maintain quality healthcare!
Rachel Chubb
I'm a biology and Spanish double major at Wellesley. In the VKC lab, I'm working on developing an accessible tool to detect the presence of vital microorganisms in gut microbiomes in low-resource locations. After Wellesley, I intend to pursue a PhD in biological sciences, then go into academia; I love teaching as much as I love doing scientific research. Outside of science, I founded the Wellesley chapter of Out in STEM, a national organization dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ individuals in STEM fields, and I'm part of Wellesley's Latinx org. I also love to dance, and I'm a member of Wellesley's tap org.
Lucia Corte
I am a Biological Sciences major and Statistics minor at Wellesley. I am working on uncovering the microbial communities that exist in Lake Waban and seeing how they change in response to disturbance events. Aside from lab, I also teach tap dancing for On Tap and work at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens. After college, I am interested in pursuing graduate school for conservation science and becoming a field biologist.
Arla Hofer
I am a biology major with a Japanese minor. In the lab I am working with microbes from our campus’s lake and their role in the lakes biogeochemical cycling. Besides academics, I am also apart of Wellesleys basketball team. After college I want to pursue research further.
Gabriel Bazan
Hi! I am a Biochemistry major on the pre-medical track. Alongside science, I love art and during summer 2024 I designed two illustrations to supplement published research conducted by the VKC Lab on the infant gut microbiome. In the lab, I am on the Lake Waban research team studying antibiotic resistance in the lake's microbial environment. When I'm not at Wellesley, I'm back home in Queens, NY spending time with my two cats, biking, hiking, compiling playlists of my favorite music, and making art! After college, I'm planning to attend medical school to study oncology.
Taeyu Kim
I'm studying biology and women and gender studies at Wellesley. I'm currently working on the Lake Waban project, which is super exciting! I'm planning on going into medicine, but for now, I'm enjoying playing chamber music, doing art, and dancing with groups on campus.
Jackleen Guo
Hi! I'm a data science major with a biology minor. In lab, I do computational data analyses to study the impact of maternal HIV on the infant gut microbiome. Outside of my studies, I spend most of my time dancing, playing video games, or cooking! After Wellesley I'm hoping to pursue graduate studies or get a job in biotechnology.
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