People
People
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Lab in February 2026
Abby Kroken, PhD
Abby Kroken, PhD
Hometown: Burlington, Wisconsin
Abby earned her PhD at the Medical College of Wisconsin studying the structure and function of clostridial neurotoxins in the lab of Joseph Barbieri. She did her postdoctoral fellowship with Suzanne Fleiszig at UC Berkeley in the School of Optometry on the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and also become immersed in the cornea, contact lens, and vision science communities. She now investigates the interplay between bacterial pathogens and innate host defenses at the ocular surface.
Outside the lab, Abby enjoys caring for her plant collection, kayaking, and scouring antique shops for unusual home decor. She aspires to foster infant kittens, and hopes everyone has the opportunity to see a glacier before they all melt.
Rachel Mazurek
The CRISPR Wispr'r
IPBS Graduate Student
Hometown: Des Plaines, Illinois
B.S., Elmhurst University, Biology major
Bacteria, fur babies, spooky season, and heavy metal. Christmas begins Nov 1st.
Selected speaker at ARVO, 2024
James A. McKechnie award winner from the Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness grant program, 2025
Adam Thota, MS
Synthesized a single protocol incorporating the methods of 87 different papers
IPBS Graduate Student
Hometown: Muskego, Wisconsin
B.S., Wisconsin Lutheran College
M.S., Loyola University Chicago, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Millie Martinez
Published her chocoflan optimization in Star Protocols
IPBS Graduate Student
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
B.S., Loyola University Chicago, Biology major
Favorite aunt of her nieces and nephews!
Drew Marten, MS
Materializes specialized equipment at his bench that we didn't pay for...
MD/PhD Student
Hometown: Tecumseh, Michigan
B.S., Central Michigan University, Biochemistry major
M.S., Central Michigan University, Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology.
Ella Varn Hagen
MIIM Master's student
Hometown: Petoskey, Michigan
B.S., Kalamazoo, Biology and Philosophy
Keeps cultures alive, friendships functional, and notebooks color-coded.
Support Staff
Support Staff
Halimede Kroken-Rusch
The Lost Companion,
class of 2021
kneading machine
Gimli Mazurek
likes the cat and CAR RIDES
Lettuce Mazurek
likes anything that remotely resembles food
Shiloh Thota
primarily interested in napping
Bilbo Bunnins Mazurek
Red Door Shelter,
class of 2023
loves adventures and bananas
Izzy Marten-Gagliardi
wet food connoisseur
Coco Martinez
loves sunbathing, sleep, and chicken
Strider Mazurek
Almost Home Foundation,
class of 2025
2025 World Champion
Stick Finder
Ralph Marten-Gagliardi
PAWS of Tinley Park,
class of 2025
3AM Sprinting/Gymnastics champion
Lucy Varn Hagen
Cat Nap from the Heart,
class of 2025
too curious for her own good
Former Lab Members
Former Lab Members
Keith Klein, Inaugural lab member
Research Assistant II, 2021-2022
Kroken AR, Klein KA, Mitchell PS, Nieto V, Jedel EJ, Evans DJ, Fleiszig SMJ. Intracellular replication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in epithelial cells requires suppression of the caspase-4 inflammasome. mSphere. 2023 Aug 17:e0035123.
After Kroken lab: Medical School at University of Illinois Chicago
Zach Resko, PhD
Postdoc, 2023-2025
Manuscript submitted to mBio
After Kroken lab: Postdoc position in Laura Mike's Lab at the University of Pittsburgh
Gustavo Serrato, MS
MIIM Master's student, 2023-2025
First place in St. Albert's Day Master's Student Oral Competition, 2024
Thesis title: Intracellular Persistence of cytotoxic strains of P. aeruginosa isolates is enabled by bistable expression of the type three secretion system
After Kroken lab: Staff research position in Liang Qiao's lab at Loyola University Chicago
Jim Henkel, PhD
Visiting Professor in Spring Semester of 2025
Professor at Wisconsin Lutheran College
After Kroken lab: Continued collaborator
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