People

Current Lab Members

Tim Johnson portrait

Principal Investigator

Timothy Johnson, PhD, Professor

I am a Professor at the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine. I have been a faculty member at UMN since 2007. Prior to joining the faculty at UMN, I was a PhD student at North Dakota State University and a postdoctoral fellow at Iowa State University. My efforts at UMN are split between research, teaching, and outreach. Our lab has published more than 140 peer-reviewed scientific articles spanning a range of topics that include avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC), Salmonella, Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (ORT), poultry probiotics, the poultry microbiome, and plasmid-mediated antimicrobial resistance. I also serve as the Director of Research and Development at the Mid-Central Research and Outreach Center Laboratory in Willmar, Minnesota. Our family (wife, son, and daughter) lives in a small town in central Minnesota, where we enjoy time on the lakes, fishing, golfing, and watching the kids play their favorite sports.

Elizabeth Miller portrait

Elizabeth Miller, PhD, Researcher

My background is primarily in animal behavior and microbial ecology, with a focus on understanding how host social behavior influences the structure and function of gut and vaginal microbial communities. My current research focuses on using comparative genomics to define the phylogenomic landscape of Salmonella serovars important in poultry production and human health. I’m also interested in understanding how human-derived sources of antimicrobial resistant bacteria disseminate into natural environments, and in turn, assessing the potential public health risks associated with possible spillback into humans. As the Johnson Lab’s bioinformatics manager, I also help students learn how to process and analyze their sequencing data.

Lab Alumni

  • Haejin Hwang, PhD  
  • Elicia Grace, PhD  

 

PhD Students  

  • Abby Johnson, PhD
  • Emily Smith, MPH, PhD   
  • Katherine Worsley-Tonks, PhD
  • Nusrat (Annie) Jahan, PhD  
  • Kevin Lang, PhD      
  • Jonathan (Brent) Clayton, PhD

 

Researchers    

  • Bonnie Weber, PhD   
  • Anisa Wakil   
  • Jijo Thomas, MS   
  • Greta Henry   
  • Jennifer Holmberg
  • Jessica Danziesen 
  • Kyle Case 
  • Kristi Kobluk, DVM    
  • Katharine Llop, DVM   

 

Undergraduate Researchers

  • Brittanie Winfield
  • Grace Richmond
  • Michael Stone
  • Liz Patton
  • Emily Clarke
  • Veronica Hwang
  • Jennifer Scalze
  • Gloria Sari

 

CVM Summer Scholars

  • Julia Smachlo, DVM Student
  • Zach Bradley, DVM   

 

High School Students

  • Sydney Dvorak

 

Visiting Researchers

  • Mariya Azam, Visiting PhD Student (University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan)
  • Sofie Kromann, Visiting PhD Student (University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark)
  • Elif Bozcal Dagdeviren, PhD, Visiting Faculty (Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey)