I was born and raised in Puerto Rico and received my Bachelors degree from the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao. I then moved to the University of Pennsylvania to continue my graduate studies. My thesis work in Dr. Sunny Shin's laboratory focused on human-specific inflammasome responses against Salmonella infection. I joined the Skaar Lab as a postdoctoral fellow in August 2019 studying host-pathogen interactions in the context of Staphylococcus aureus infection.

Photo Credit: Erica Brechtelsbauer / AP Images for HHMI

Caitlin grew up on Merritt Island, a barrier island on Florida’s Space Coast. After receiving her B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Florida, she moved to Durham, NC to pursue graduate studies at Duke University. There, she earned her PhD in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology in the lab of Dr. John Rawls. For her dissertation, she used zebrafish to study mechanisms by which the microbiota shape the development of the innate immune system. In the Skaar lab, Caitlin continues to use gnotobiotic zebrafish as a model to investigate the impact of metals on shaping inter-bacterial interactions in the intestine.

Dillon grew up in western Pennsylvania and earned his B.S in biology from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pa. He stayed in Pittsburgh for his doctoral work, where he earned his Ph.D from the University of Pittsburgh in Dr. James Bina’s lab, where he studied the link between Vibrio cholerae RND multidrug efflux pumps and bacterial adaptive responses. In the Skaar lab Dillon studies the struggle for nutrient metals at the Acinetobacter baumannii host-pathogen interface.

Erin grew up outside of Pittsburgh, PA and earned her B.S. from the University of Pittsburgh. For her doctoral work, she studied in the laboratory of Dr. Joan Mecsas at Tufts University, where she used high-throughput genetic approaches to investigate mechanisms of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis survival in mammalian tissue sites. In the Skaar lab, Erin is characterizing ways in which Acinetobacter baumannii resists oxidative stress during pulmonary infection.

Seth Reasoner is an MD/PhD student in the Microbe-Host Interactions graduate program. He grew up in the Midwest (Minnesota and Indiana), and graduated from Berea College in Kentucky with a degree in Chemistry. He hopes to become a pulmonary and critical care physician. Seth enjoys long bike rides, hiking, camping.