Manel camps – Professor in microbiology & environmental toxicology
I grew up in Catalonia, and am a veterinarian by training. I completed a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology in Dr. John Boothroyd’s laboratory at Stanford University and a postdoc in Dr. Larry Loeb’s laboratory at the University of Washington. In 2007, I joined the University of California, Santa Cruz’s Department of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology, where I established a research laboratory that focuses on the study of molecular mechanisms of evolution, with a focus on plasmids and mechanisms of resistance to antibiotics and to alkylating agents.
The main undergraduate classes that I teach are Human Anatomy (METX135), Human Anatomy Lab (METX135L) and Human Cadaver Dissection (METX135C), Physiology of Disease (METX41). I also co-teach the following graduate classes: Advanced Prokaryotic Biology (METX206), Molecular Pathogenesis (METX238), and Mechanisms of Antibiotic Resistance (METX215). For more information about these classes please see UCSC’s General Catalog.
Since 2014, I have also been serving as Provost of Crown College, one of the 10 colleges at UCSC, and since 2021, serving as Faculty Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Development CIED. Through these two administrative leadership positions, I strive to foster high quality education based on promoting transferable skills and on connecting the work we do in academia with the needs of our community. For more information about Crown’s academic program please see Crown College Academics, and for more information about CIED, please visit CIED’s webpage.
Hobbies: In my free time I like to hike and to do mountain biking. I also enjoy linguistics and history.
Lab Members
Diego Montenegro, ph.d. – research associate
Diego obtained his B.S. in Biology at the Universidad del Magdalena, Colombia and his Ph.D. in Tropical Medicine from Instituto Oswaldo Cruz / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Brazil. His main area of interest is surveillance and control of vector-borne diseases (Dengue, Malaria, ChagasDiseases, Rickettsiosis, etc.). He has experience leading projects for both local and international organizations and he is working toward integrating community intelligence and artificial intelligence to address public health and environmental problems. Diego enjoys cooking, hiking, and discovering new beaches.
Vincent Blay, ph.d. – research associate
Vincent obtained his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Valencia, Spain, developing catalysts for chemical processes. He has conducted research at multiple institutions, including UC San Francisco, investigating biomineralization and renal pathologies, and Berkeley National Lab, creating computational tools for synthetic biology. His interests include artificial intelligence, the design of molecules and therapeutics, and the combination of modeling and wet-lab experiments. Vincent enjoys hiking and traveling to new places.
Gerardo Cortés, Ph.D – Research Associate
Gerardo completed his PhD in Microbiology at Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico. He joined the Camps lab as a Postdoc when awarded the UC-MEXUS fellowship, allowing him to analyze the horizontal transfer of plasmid-borne antibiotic resistance genes in Extraintestinal E. coli clones mediated by conjugation. Currently, he is collaborating as a Research Associate and is also exploring the industry in a Quality Assurance Company. When not spreading his passion for plasmids, he enjoys cooking and tasting new dishes.
Christina Egami – Ph.D. Student
Christina completed her B.S. in Biomolecular Engineering and Bioinformatics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is now continuing her academic journey as a PhD student in the Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology department. Christina is currently investigating the mechanisms regulating ColE1 plasmid segregation to further understand the spread of plasmids, which are extrachromosomal DNA that encode antibiotic resistance, heavy metal resistance or virulence factors.
caison warner – ph.d. student
Caison obtained his B.S. in Neuroscience at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and is now a Ph.D. student in the Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology department at UCSC. Caison is investigating the functional genomic landscape of Toxin-Antitoxin systems in E. coli through a process of both bioinformatics and biomolecular engineering.
NityA Jain – Undergraduate student
Nitya is a double major in BME: Bioinformatics and Philosophy with a minor in Computer Science. She works under Caison Warner on applying bioinformatic methods to Toxin-Antitoxin Systems research. Her current research project is creating a web interface to scan a given genome for all types of Toxin-Antixon Systems, as current tools only scan for specific types of systems. In her free time, she loves to rock climb, explore new hiking spots, and find fun coffee spots.
Adam Koble – undergraduate student
Adam is an undergraduate student researcher studying the genetic mutations that allow for antibiotic resistance in E. coli. He is a fourth-year Biochemistry and Molecular Biology student with plans of working as a microbiologist in a clinical laboratory. On his time off he enjoys music, photography, hiking, and fencing for UCSC.
DAVID MARSELLi- undergraduate student
David is a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major with a minor in Bioinformatics. He is working under Caison to develop a tool that finds prominent clusters of resistance genes in E. coli. In his free time, he enjoys hiking and foraging, playing guitar, and music production.
Miriam Yee – undergraduate student
Miriam is a fourth-year undergraduate student researcher pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience. She is working under PhD student, Christina Egami, to elucidate the mechanisms of multicopy plasmid instability. In her free time, Miriam enjoys hiking, reading, and roller skating.
