Who We Are

Principal Investigator
Archana Anand
I am an environmental microbiologist. I completed two postdoctoral research stints at Stanford University and Columbia University on microbial pathogenesis of SARS-CoV2 in wastewater. I got my PhD in the University of Hong Kong on ecosystem multifunctionality and eutrophication impacts on marine biodiversity and my B.Eng from the National University of Singapore. I am a National Geographic Explorer and helped characterize tourism impacts on the coral communities of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. I currently run the Global Change Microbiology lab in the department of biology at SF state. I am a Co-I on a grant from the State of California Coastal Conservancy where we characterize microbial drivers of oyster restoration and I’m also a Co-I on the DOE funded BRaVE Phage Foundry where we are characterising phage-host associations in environmental reservoirs including waste streams.

PhD, Post-Doc, Phage Pathways Program Manager
Sona Garsevanyan
Molecular Biology

Phage Pathways Research Technician; Lab Manager
Danica Marvi Lee
Microbiology, Phages in wastewater influent
Meet the Team

Benjamin Rafael-Mingoa
Graduate Student, CIRM scholar, BRaVE Phage Foundry Scholar
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Phage diversity in wastewater influent

Gabriela Franco
Graduate Student, NIH Bridge Scholar, Climate Action Fellow
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Microbial community diversity and abundance in campus wastewater

Katherine Dick
Graduate Student, Sandia National Laboratories Intern (Summer 2025), Genentech Scholar
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Microbial community diversity and abundance in biosolids

LuzMaria Soto
Graduate Student, Climate Action Fellow
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eDNA and hypoxia in San Francisco Bay

Michael Acholonu
Graduate Student, Genentech Scholar
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ESKAPE Bacteria Evaluation in Wastewater: Prevalence, Distribution, and Phage Interactions for Antimicrobial Resistance

Brennan Withers
Undergraduate Senior, Genentech Scholar, GEN-PINC Recipient
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Microbial Diversity of Bay Area Wastewater, Bacteriophage Treatments for Antimicrobial Resistance

Nishta Mukundan
Senior in High School
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Vibrio prevalence in Olympia Oyster microbiomes
Alumni
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Michael Hajkowski
Now: CMDB PhD Student at UCR
Previously: NIH Bridges to Doctorate Scholar, BRaVE Phage Foundry Scholar, Phage Pathways Intern (2023-2025)
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Microbial pathogenesis and wastewater based epidemiology
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After receiving his Master's Degree in Cell and Molecular Biology, Michael is currently pursuing his PhD at the University of California, Riverside.

Sanjiev Nand
Master's graduate, Genentech Scholar (2023-2025)
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Microbial drivers of native oyster restoration
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Since getting his Master's Degree in Cell and Molecular Biology, Jeff has moved on to be an intern at Genentech in Product Technical Development working in the department of Cell Line Development. Their department is working on improving the stability of CHO cell lines so that they are better able to produce therapeutic molecules. They want to increase production of these therapeutic compounds over time while maintaining cell stability. They are constantly finding ways to improve the efficiency, efficacy, and monetary investment during this process.

Morgan Herndandez
Post-Baccalaureate
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Vibrio in oyster reef
