Nico Podar

Nico is from Oak Ridge, TN and is an undergraduate student at Vanderbilt studying Biomedical Engineering. His first exposure to research was at ORNL, where he studied the evolution of oral microbes as well as the genomics of the actinomycosis-causing bacterium Schaalia odontolytica. In the Cassat Lab, he works on understanding the genetic mechanisms of Staphylococcus aureus virulence enhancement by Candida albicans during co-infection. In his free time, Nico enjoys cooking, rock climbing, and playing the piano.