Personnel

Animal Model Staff

Kathy Krentz

Animal Models Facility Director
Assistant Researcher
3124 Biotechnology Center
Email: kjkrentz@wisc.edu

Background: Kathy received her B.S. in Animal Science from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in 1989 and her M.S. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1991 where she first learned to manipulate mammalian embryos. She worked in Transgenic Animal Facility (TAF) from 1991-2005, returned to TAF in 2010 and has been the Facility Manager since 2013. In 2010, Kathy trained in the lab of Dr. Tadao Serikawa in Kyoto, Japan to learn rat embryo and sperm techniques such as cryopreservation and intra-cytoplasmic sperm injections. In 2014, she participated in the CARD-RPCI Sperm and Embryo Cryopreservation Course at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY.  In 2017, she was an invited speaker at the International Society for Transgenic Technology (ISTT) meeting held in Salt Lake City, UT.

Felipe Ongaratto

Animal Models Lab Manager
3120 Biotechnology Center
Email: ledurongarat@wisc.edu

Background: Felipe received his Bachelor of Science in Veterinary Medicine at Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in 2009; his Master of Science in Bovine Reproduction in 2013 (Argentina) and PhD in Physiology of Reproduction in 2019 (Brazil). Since then he has working in cloning and production of transgenic animals in different species. In 2018 Felipe joined a biotechnology company in Minnesota, Recombinetics Inc., where he was in charge of the cloning and embryo production/transfer in pigs. He joined AM in February 2023, where is responsible for the production of transgenic mice & rats, by pronuclear microinjection / electroporation and also performs embryo transfers.

Lucille Lopez

Research Specialist
Email: llopez26@wisc.edu

Background: Lucille joined the Animal Models core in April, 2024. She has a B.S. in Zoology from UW-Madison and has extensive experience working a vet technician at local animal hospitals. She has quickly mastering mouse colony husbandry and breeding.

Kyley Wipper

Kyley Wipper

Undergraduate Assistant

Background: Kyley is an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Neurobiology.