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Lawrence R. Aaronson, Ph.D.
Professor of Biology
Harold T. Clark, Jr. Professor of Microbiology

Education
  • B.S., Biological Science, Florida State University
  • Ph.D., Microbiology, Rutgers University
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine

Honors and Awards
  • Crisafulli Distinguished Teaching Award, Utica College, 1996
  • Harold T. Clark Award for Research, Utica College, 1997
  • Carski Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award, American Society for Microbiology, 2007
  • Harold T. Clark, Jr. Professor of Microbiology, Utica College, 2010
Student Researchers
Celia DeJohn '18 conducting experiments on the biochemistry of melanin synthesis in Pseudomonas uticensis.
Members of 2016-17 Research Group at ASM-Microbe 2017
L-R: Pamela Lawrence '17, Sania Safdar '19, Celia DeJohn '18, Emra Klempic '18, and Doc
Current Research Group, 2020​-2021
  • Nicole Pickett '21: Phylogeny of P. uticensis, pyomelanin production in P. uticensis, isolation of bacteriophages
  • Evan Vescio '21: Alginate production in P. uticensis and biofilm adhesion
  • Connor Yingling '22: Effects of macrolide antibiotics on P. uticensis​ biofilms
  • Selma Ahmetasevic '21: Sliding motility and colony formation in Bacillus cereus
  • Abigail Magruder '21: Sliding motility and colony formation in Bacillus cereus
  • Jordyn Dora ‘22: Effects of honey on the yeast-to-hyphal transition in Candida albicans
Pamela Lawrence '17 and Stephanie Seifert '13 at one of our posters at ASM 2015 in New Orleans.
Distinguished Lab Alumni

  • Emra Klempic (2018): Cardiac Surgery RN Project Coordinator, Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of Rochester Medical Center, 2018-2020; Ph.D. Student, Graduate Program in Microbiology, Indiana University, 2020-present. 
  • Celia DeJohn (2018): Ph.D. Student, University of Buffalo - Roswell Park Center for Cancer Research, 2018-present
  • Pamela Lawrence (2017): Analytical Chemist, MedMen, Utica NY, 2017-2019; Research Assistant, Masonic Medical Research Laboratories, Utica NY, 2019-present; Graduate Student, University of Florida Graduate Program in Microbiology and Cell Science, 2020-present
  • Mary Brockett (2016): Ph.D. student, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 2016-present
  • Kate Zeigler (2013): Ph.D. 2019, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
  • Lyndsay Avery (2011): Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, 2018; Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Pennsylvania; Adjunct Lecturer, Utica College
  • Kayla (Kracke) Penta (2011): Ph.D., University of South Carolina, 2016; Clinical Research Coordinator, Invocare Clinical Research Center, 2017; Adjunct Professor, York Technical College, 2017-present; Postdoctoral Fellow, North Carolina State University, 2017-2019; Assistant Professor of Biology, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Elmira Campus, 2019-present
  • Amanda Butler (2009): Ph.D., Mayo University, 2014; Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Miami School of Medicine, 2014-2017; Lead Scientist, NASA Ames Laboratory, 2017-present.
  • Eva (Szymanska) Mroczek (2008): Ph.D., University of Alabama - Birmingham, 2013; Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Alabama - Birmingham; Adjunct Lecturer, Utica College
  • Scott Britton (2007): M.S., Johns Hopkins University, 2012; M.B.A., Marist College, 2019. Research and Development, Duvel Brewery, Belgium; Adjunct Lecturer, Utica College; President, American Society of Brewing Chemists, 2019-2020; Ph.D. Student, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland .
  • Sara Johnston (2004); Ph.D. University of Rochester, 2009; Research Scientist, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), 2009 - present.
  • Julia van Kessel (2003): Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, 2008; Postdoctoral Fellow, Princeton University, 2009-2013; Assistant Professor of Biology, Indiana University, 2013-present.
  • Jennifer (Gerlach) Herzog (1997): M.S., M. Phil., Yale University, 2000. Associate Professor of Biology, Herkimer College, 2001-present.
  • Susan Zullo (1992): Ph.D The George Washington University, 1999; Congressional Science and Technology Policy Fellow, U.S. Senate - Sen. Dick Durbin, 1999 – 2001; Senior Regulatory Scientist, US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, 2002 – present.
  • Ralph Bernstein (1992): Ph.D., University of Arizona, 1996; Biologist, US Food and Drug Administration, 1997 - present.
  • Todd Armstrong (1988): M.S. Rensselaer Polytechnic University, 1990; Ph.D. University of Maryland - Baltimore Campus, 1997; Research Associate, Johns Hopkins University, 2000 - present.
Eva Szymanska Mroczek '08, Scott Britton '07 and Amanda Butler '09 at ASM 2008
Tarah Scanlon '03 and Julia van Kessel '03 (front row from left) and Doc (left, back row) meet Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Council on Undergraduate Research "Posters on the Hill" program in Washington, DC, March 2003.  
Lab group at ASM 2012 San Francisco, CA: (from left to right) Lyndsay Avery '11, Scott Britton '07, Tori Bruns, Kate Zeigler '13, Stephanie Seifert '13, Kaitlyn Sadallah, Jeanette McCorry '12.