Research

Dynamics of microbial populations are critical for human health. Auto-inflammatory disease, colitis, sepsis and obesity are all dysbiotic conditions that depend on the interactions between microbes (pathogenic and beneficial), the host, and the surrounding environment. As the traditional drug-based treatment to cure these conditions is ineffective due to selection for resistance and disruption of the healthy balance in the resident intestinal flora, it is necessary to determine targeted therapies that effectively cure these diseases while minimizing side effects. The goal of my research program is to develop new therapies that, by exploiting the ecological and evolutionary processes underlying these microbes’ dynamics, cure or prevent intestinal diseases. We achieve this by combining our expertise at the interface between engineering, systems biology and microbiology, with that in immunology, medicine and infectious disease from our collaborators.  Below are brief descriptions of project undergoing in the laboratory.