Research Area: Disease Ecology and Evolution

We study the mechanisms underlying ecological interactions between fungi and bacteria.  Student projects will focus on current work to characterize the bacteria associated with mycorrhizal fungi in poorly studied desert habitats in California and Israel. Students will learn culture and microscopy techniques, and phylogenetic analysis.

My laboratory studies viruses, with a particular focus on viruses that have jumped into new hosts to cause epidemics of disease. One model we study is canine parvovirus, which is a cat virus that transferred into dogs in the mid-1970s and subsequently caused a global[...]

My research spans infection biology across scales and systems, utilizing a variety of theoretical and computational approaches, such as: modeling of infectious disease dynamics in complex populations, networks and landscapes; characterizing the structure, function and evolution of cellular networks involved in pathogen virulence and host[...]

The Moreau lab focuses on the symbiotic factors that drive evolutionary diversification in ants. One example question is whether seed-eating ants have distinct gut microbiomes to facilitate their use of this food source. Students will characterize the gut microbiomes of ant species using 16S amplicon[...]

Research in my group focuses on the population genetics of rapid evolution, using a combination of experimental and modeling approaches. We are particularly interested in human-induced examples of rapid evolution, like the evolution of pesticide and drug resistance. We also study the possibility of population-scale[...]

The Martin lab studies the molecular bases of bacterial infection processes and the plant immune system. Our research focuses on speck disease caused by the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato. We use diverse experimental methods in biochemistry, bioinformatics, cell biology, forward and reverse genetics, genomics, molecular[...]

The Leifer lab investigates how the immune system detects and initiates inflammatory responses to microbes. We focus on innate immune macrophages and the regulatory mechanisms that control inflammation through Toll-like receptors (TLRs).

The Hendry lab studies how environmental bacteria interact with insect hosts. Our main focus is understanding how plant-associated bacteria influence the health and behavior of insect herbivores. Students will design mesocosm experiments with culturable bacteria growing on plants and herbivorous insects, using skills in bacteriology[...]

My research focuses on the biology, ecology and behavior of mosquitoes that transmit human diseases such as dengue fever, West Nile virus and malaria. I have developed methods for studying blood feeding patterns, survival and longevity, mating behavior and feeding behavior of mosquitoes in both[...]

Emphasis is on pathogens and symbionts of invertebrates, predominantly focusing on interactions between microbes and insect hosts, many of which are invasive species. Subjects covered are broad, ranging from population biology, immune responses, basic biologies of pathogens, interactions between hosts and pathogens and epizootiology to[...]