About us
The Carlson Laboratory is interested in the isolation and characterization of biologically active small molecules. The Carlson lab is always interested in collaborating with other research labs that have a small molecule they need identified. Contact the PI, Skylar Carlson, directly on the Contact Us page.
We are focused on undergraduate research experiences and developing each student’s research interests. First semester undergraduates are given basic training in microbiology or analytical chemistry. Second semester undergraduates are given their own research projects that align with their career goals. Guided by graduate students, these side projects help our students master inquiry based learning, sterile technique, biological assay development, chromatography, and advanced spectroscopic techniques such as HPLC, NMR, and LCMS.
2023 Focus: Organizing the laboratory’s collections and preparing extracts for screening and secondary metabolite isolation.
Previous Focus:
2019 Fall: We are currently processing freshwater sponges collected in Lake Michigan and Lake Superior for actinomycete bacteria. These bacteria are known to dedicate up to two-thirds of their genomes to the production of potent small molecules. Our objective is to isolate and identify these small molecules.
2020 Spring: Through collaboration with the Caro-Diaz group at the University of Puerto Rico School of Pharmacy we are analyzing small molecules from cyanobacteria using GNPS.
2021 Spring: Caulerpa are an invasive algae that we hypothesize chemically mediate their microbiome. Working with data collected by Dr. Melany Puglisi at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy students we are determining the cues that cause bacteria to settle to the surface of the algae.
2021 Fall: California algal culturable microbiome is under investigation for both diversity, biological activity, and whether the chemical extracts of the algae are responsible for settling those bacteria.