Principal Investigator
Eric Hegg obtained his B.A. from Kalamazoo College and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin
under the direction of Professor Judith Burstyn. It was during his time at Wisconsin
that he became interested in metalloenzymology, studying the role of metal ions in
enzymes that hydrolyze DNA, RNA, and proteins. After receiving his Ph.D., Eric joined
Larry Que's group at the University of Minnesota as an NIH postdoctoral fellow where
he studied non-heme iron dioxygenases and established his long-standing interest in
understanding how nature synthesizes and activates small molecules such as H2 and O2. Following his postdoctoral work, Eric and his family moved to Salt Lake City where
he joined the faculty of the University of Utah and began his independent research
career. When the opportunity arose, Eric and his wife eagerly returned to the northern
Midwest to join the faculty at MSU. In addition to studying heme biosynthesis and
O2 utilization, he is involved in developing renewable bioenergy, converting biomass
into ethanol and other transportation fuels as wells as using microbes to generate
H2. When Eric am not busy in the lab, he enjoys running, hiking, and most outdoor activities.
E-mail: EricHegg@msu.edu
Research Associates
Julius Campeciño joined the lab as a research associate in October 2017. He earned his PhD in Chemistry
in 2015 at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst under the guidance of Prof. Michael
J. Maroney. Prior to joining the group, he taught undergraduate chemistry in the Philippines.
His interest revolves around understanding how enzymes modulate the properties of
metal ions to perform specific catalysis. He is currently involved in unraveling the
mechanism of cytochrome
c nitrite reductase. Outside of the lab, he enjoys working out specially that he is
now a Spartan, but he laments at how he can't get to the build like his Spartan predecessors.
Email: campecin@msu.edu
Subba Reddy Dodda joined the Hegg lab as a Research Associate in November 2021.He received his PhD
in Biotechnology from the National Institute of Technology, Durgapur West Bengal India,
wherein his study focused on the engineering of cellulase enzymes for improving their
activity through rational design and directed evolution methods. His current research
focuses on how fungal Lytic Polysaccharide Monooxygenases (LPMOs) improve cellulose
hydrolysis. Subba Reddy likes to read books and enjoys comic movies.
Email: doddasub@msu.edu
Nisha Jangir joined the TerAvest and Hegg labs as a research associate in February 2021. She received
her master’s degree in Biotechnology from University of Rajasthan, India. Nisha completed
her Ph.D. in Department of Biochemistry, University of Hyderabad, India, in July 2019,
wherein her study was focused on stereoselective synthesis of chiral cyanohydrins
using a hydroxynitrile lyase enzyme. Then, Nisha worked as a senior scientific officer
in Seminal Applied Science Pvt. Ltd. Jaipur, India from August 2019 to July 2020.
She is currently working on a Team-Up project which aims to create a link between
an extracellular electrode and cytosolic electron carriers in Gram-negative bacteria. She
loves camping, music, watching movies, and traveling to new places.
E-mail: jangirn1@msu.edu
Sreeahila Retnadhas joined the Hegg group in February 2022. She completed her master’s degree in Biotechnology
from Anna University, India. She earned her PhD from Indian Institute of Technology
Madras under the guidance of Prof. Sathyanarayana Gummadi where she worked on enzymology
of bacterial caffeine degradation. She is currently working on an NSF project where
chemo-enzymatic methods are being applied for efficient depolymerization of polyolefins.
Outside of lab, she loves music (more specifically A R Rahman), growing plants and
spending time with her family.
Email: retnadha@msu.edu
Elise Rivett joined the Hegg lab in 2014 as a graduate student in the Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology program and completed her Ph.D. in May 2021. Before coming to MSU, she earned
a B.S. in chemistry from Olivet Nazarene University. Her graduate research in the
Hegg lab focused on characterizing the mechanism of heme a synthase, an enzyme that
produces an essential cofactor for cytochrome c oxidase. Following graduation, she
stayed on in the Hegg lab to work with new colorful metalloenzymes that are involved
in the production of N2O, a greenhouse gas. Elise also enjoys long rambling walks,
Costa Rican coffee, and funky socks.
E-mail: rivettel@msu.edu
Shireesh Srivastava joined the Hegg lab as a Visiting Scholar in June 2022. He earned his master’s in
Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore in 2001 and
his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University in 2007 under the guidance
of Prof. Christina Chan. His postdoctoral research work was in the lab of Dr. Richard
Veech in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in metabolism. His research interests
include applied metabolism and process development. He loves to spend time with his
boys, enjoys listening to podcasts and music, cooking (occasionally), and a little
bit of working out.
Email:
srivas14@msu.edu
Graduate Assistants
Louisa Ellis is a graduate student in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) department
who joined the lab in the Spring of 2022. Prior to coming to MSU, she earned her B.S.
in Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Louisa's research focuses
on the characterization and regulatory elucidation of bacterial Lytic Polysaccharide
Monooxygenases (LPMOs). In her free time, she enjoys hiking, sailing, and listening
to music.
Email: ellislou@msu.edu
Krystina Hird is a graduate student in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) program at
MSU and joined the Hegg lab in March of 2020. She received her BS in Biochemistry
from Miami of Ohio in 2019. Her research project focuses on understanding the mechanism
of converting nitrite to ammonium via bacterial cytochrome c nitrite reductase. She
enjoys camping, watching movies, and eating good food.
E-mail: hirdkrys@msu.edu
Undergraduate Students
Minh Anh Dang is a freshman majoring in Biotechnology. She began to work in the Hegg Lab through
the Honors' Professorial Assistantship Program in Fall 2021. She will be assisting
Elise Rivette in her project of identifying the enzymatic mechanism of N2O biosynthesis,
a potent greenhouse gas. In her free time, she enjoys reading novels and listening
to music.
E-mail: danganh1@msu.edu
