Johanna passed her comprehensive exam, which means she is advancing to PhD candidacy!! The exam involved writing a research proposal on a topic outside of her main focus, and presenting her idea for an hour to her committee, who then asked detailed questions about her work and understanding of this research for over an hour.
Johanna has been with the lab since 2020, but she has actual been researching broccoli sprouts for 6 years, as she started her career with Yanyan Li and Tao Zhang back when all three were at Husson University. Johanna is a brilliant nutritional health microbiologist who uses multi-faceted research – from the lab to public health – to understand the connection between health and the microbiome. She has been a valuable collaborator on our intricate and lab-heavy projects, allowing the lab to coordinate up to 5 projects and 8 students simultaneously. Now that she is a PhD candidate, Johanna will begin designing her own research projects and trying to find funding through fellowships, to help her become an independent researcher.
Johanna Holman, B.S., M.S.
Doctor of Philosophy candidate, Microbiology
Johanna joined the lab in fall 2020 to investigate the effects of diet on the gut microbiome, and on host-microbial interactions. For the past several years, she has been working with Drs. Tao Zhang and Yanyan Li, and her project combines nutritional biochemistry of broccoli sprouts with effects on gut microbes. She obtained her master’s in nutrition in summer 2022, and returned to the Ishaq and Li labs for her PhD!
Imaginome Designs, her graphic design business
The Ishaq Lab 