Erickson:Lab Members

	David Erickson Principal Investigator e-mail: xenopsylla@gmail.com I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Lethbridge and went to graduate school at the University of Calgary in the lab of Doug Storey, where I studied Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis. I joined Joe Hinnebusch's lab at Rocky Mountain Laboratories, where I studied the steps involved in the evolution of flea-borne transmission of plague. I have been on the BYU faculty since 2006, and my lab is investigating flea transmission of plague.
	Wei Zhou Graduate Student e-mail: lianzi8693@gmail.com
	Bria Walch Undergraduate e-mail: latinlady13@gmail.com
	Kody Johnson Undergraduate e-mail: johnson5@byu.net I entered the Erickson lab in September of 2006 and am majoring in Microbiology at BYU. I am working on identifying gene expression patterns in flea vectors. We are using suppression subtractive hybridization to create a library of clones representing the genes specifically active in infected fleas. Using the techniques of RNA interference in the fleas, we are attempting to knock down identified genes to test impact on transmission. I am also working on knocking out a set of genes responsible for alteration of the LPS structure in Yersinia pestis and conferring resistance to antimicrobial peptides.
	Richard Mortensen Undergraduate e-mail: richdmort@gmail.com
	Joey Pawlowski Undergraduate e-mail: jrpawlowski@gmail.com
	Bryce Lunt Undergraduate e-mail: thecelloguy@gmail.com
	Emmelie Young Undergraduate e-mail:
	Chris Conley Undergraduate e-mail:
	Travis Hileman Undergraduate e-mail: travistherussian@yahoo.com