{"id":46,"date":"2023-01-09T19:40:46","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T19:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/carterlab\/?page_id=46"},"modified":"2026-01-14T21:09:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T21:09:25","slug":"lab-members","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/carterlab\/lab-members\/","title":{"rendered":"Lab Members"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Assistant Professor (Principal Investigator)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Dr. Morgan Carter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\/her<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Through my training in molecular plant-microbe interactions, I found the hidden world of endofungal bacteria and have been hooked ever since. When not in the lab, I read, play video and board games, and enjoy the mountains and beaches of NC.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Plant Pathology Ph.D. – Cornell University 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biochemistry B.Sc. – North Carolina State University 2014<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

e: morgan.carter@charlotte.edu<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google Scholar<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ORCID<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Web of Science<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Graduate Researchers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Bhuwan Abbot<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\/her<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“My research interests involve DNA and RNA omics, and molecular biology. As a PhD student in The Carter Lab, I am exploring the key genes involved in interactions between Pestalotiopsis and Luteibacter. When I’m not in lab, you’ll spot me at the grocery store, doing chores, or running errands!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Biological Sciences (PhD)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

e: babbot@charlotte.edu<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dallas (Nivens) Moses<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\/her<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“My favorite area of biology is microbial ecology, and in my free time I love to read!”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biological Sciences (PhD)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

e: dnivens1@charlotte.edu<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Ruth Wright<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\/her<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Some of my hobbies include shopping, watching movies, and just relaxing.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biological Sciences (PhD)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

e: rwrigh55@charlotte.edu<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Sara Field<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\/her<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m interested in One Health and researching pathogens. In my free time I love to swim, read, and scroll through Pinterest!”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biological Sciences<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early Entry Masters Student<\/p>\n\n\n\n

e: sfield7@charlotte.edu<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Undergraduate Researchers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Lea Mennen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\/her<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I love that in research you\u2019re always being challenged and that you have to think critically. Outside of research I also enjoy reading, dancing, skiing and really anything outdoors.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biological Sciences<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honors Undergraduate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

e: lmennen@charlotte.edu<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Ty Sokolowski<\/p>\n\n\n\n

he\/him<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I am a vet tech on the pre-vet track who loves everything to do with animals, especially cats! I love researching pathogens as well, and my hobbies including watching anime and camping”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biological Sciences<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honors Undergraduate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

e: tsokolo2@charlotte.edu<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Megan Soto<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\/her<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m interested in researching bacteria, how they can help\/disrupt viruses, and how they affect us. My hobbies include reading manga, reading\/watching theories online, and watching TV shows.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biological Sciences<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undergraduate Researcher<\/p>\n\n\n\n

e: msoto6@charlotte.edu<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Vainqueur Makema<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\/her<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I want to learn more about microbes because of my strong interest in working in healthcare and understanding how microorganisms impact human health. In my free time, I enjoy reading, cooking, shopping, and playing video games.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biological Sciences<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honors Undergraduate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

e: vmakema@charlotte.edu<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Jakada Harris<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\/her<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Outside of research, I enjoy reading, painting, and hiking!”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biological Sciences<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undergraduate Researcher<\/p>\n\n\n\n

e: jharr338@charlotte.edu<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Collaborating and Affiliated<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Caroline West<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\/her<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For research, I really love nucleic acids, learning more about disease processes, learning new skills, and brand new topics that haven’t been explored. For hobbies, I enjoy reading, working out, dancing, spending time with my two daughters, and being outside.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Bioinformatics (PhD)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

e: chill112@charlotte.edu<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collaboration Student with the <\/em>LaBella<\/em> Lab<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a summer rotation in the Carter Lab, Caroline continues to work with us on phages in our bacterial endosymbionts, adding another layer!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Lab Alums <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Alison Moore<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\/her<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alison finished her MSc in December of 2025. A founding member of the lab, she pushed forward our projects with Luteibacter mycovicinus<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biological Sciences (MSc)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Aylha Pferschy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\/her<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aylha defended her MSc in July of 2025. She created a genetic toolbox for studying the function of DNA-binding proteins in Mycetohabitans<\/em>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biological Sciences (MSc)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Atalia Cooper<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\/her<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biological Sciences<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OUR Scholar<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Eric Brooks<\/p>\n\n\n\n

he\/him<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biological Sciences<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OUR Scholar<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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MyAsia Owens<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\/her<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MyAsia tackled some of the tricky aspects of Mycetohabitans<\/em>, helping us tame it for new experiments. Graduated Spring 2025.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biological Sciences<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undergraduate Researcher<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Paola Diaz-Matamoros<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\/her<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paola helped the lab grow! No really, she was key to getting our in planta <\/em>assays rolling. Graduated Spring 2025.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biological Sciences<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undergraduate Researcher<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Taylor Yonemura<\/p>\n\n\n\n

he\/they<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taylor established our first collaboration with the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens and brought the first insects into the Carter Lab. Graduated Spring 2025.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biological Sciences<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undergraduate Researcher<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Laira Lee<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\/her<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our antiSMASH wizard, Laira finished high school and her virtual internship with us and is moving on to NC State for undergrad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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NCSSM-Morganton<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High School Intern<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lauren Carneal<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\/her<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren was instrumental in getting this place up and running! We are incredibly excited to follow her work as a graduate student at Penn State.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Genetics B.Sc. – Clemson University 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technician<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Timothy Love<\/p>\n\n\n\n

he\/him<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After studying motility and competition in the lab, Tim got a part-time position at a PT office, which will help him achieve his goals of becoming a physical therapist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biological Sciences<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undergraduate Researcher<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Venus Kajangu<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\/her<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After completing her project on binding element prediction, Venus left the lab to take her growing computer skills to the world of psychology research.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Psychology and Computer Science (Concentration: Bioinformatics)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undergraduate Researcher<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Assistant Professor (Principal Investigator) Dr. Morgan Carter she\/her “Through my training in molecular plant-microbe interactions, I found the hidden world of endofungal bacteria and have been hooked ever since. When not in the lab, I read, play video and board games, and enjoy the mountains and beaches of NC.” Plant Pathology Ph.D. – Cornell University […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4086,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"coauthors":[5],"class_list":["post-46","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/carterlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/46","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/carterlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/carterlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/carterlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4086"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/carterlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46"}],"version-history":[{"count":54,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/carterlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/46\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":474,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/carterlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/46\/revisions\/474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/carterlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/carterlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=46"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}