Role: Potential MFF (REU) Host

Climate change dramatically impacts freshwater ecosystems, which are becoming warmer, more acidic, and nutrient rich. The collective influence of the microbial inhabitants of these ecosystems, despite their tiny size, can have an immense impact on water quality. However, we lack fundamental knowledge on the ecology[...]

We are actively engaged in defining the signals that enable effector T cells to ‘find’ areas of infection and damage within inflamed tissues. We utilize intravital multiphoton microscopy and optogenetic tools to visualize and manipulate effector CD4+ T cells in situ. These approaches have revealed extrinsic[...]

Our lab is focused on pollinator health. Specifically: Combining empirical data with network modeling to understand pathogen transmission in complex plant-pollinator networks. Evaluating the relative importance of pesticides, pathogens, and other factors on colony performance. Understanding how pesticide and pathogen stress influence bee behavior and[...]

The research in the Kessler Lab focuses on the ecology and evolution of plant chemical defenses (secondary metabolites) to pathogens and herbivores and the role of soil microbial communities to affect and be affected by plant secondary metabolism. Thus we try to understand how microbially-mediated[...]

The Moreau lab focuses on the symbiotic factors that drive speciation, adaptation, and evolutionary diversification. Much of the research in the lab focuses on the potential co-evolution of ants and the gut-associated bacteria to understand the diversity and putative function of host-associated microbes. Combined with[...]

Dr. Hendry is broadly interested in the evolution and ecology of bacteria interacting with hosts. Work in the Hendry lab aims to integrate data from genomic, experimental and field research to determine how host interactions shape bacterial evolution and population dynamics, and how these factors[...]

We use Bacillus subtilis as a model system to characterize the bacterial stress responses elicited by metal ion limitation and excess during infection, and by host-produced antibiotics that interfere with integrity of the cell envelope. The resulting insights are relevant for understanding the mechanisms that allow bacterial[...]

Our research uses a combination of molecular, genetic, and proteomics approaches to understand how insects transmit plant pathogens and how pathogens manipulate host plants to ensure replication and transmission. A second are of research is the development of new pest management tools to enhance cultural[...]

Our research centers on crop diseases caused by bacteria in the genus Xanthomonas, focusing on TAL effector proteins injected by the bacteria to manipulate expression of specific host genes important for disease development. Our lab also studies plant disease resistance mechanisms triggered by TAL effectors[...]

Our research explores the impact of host behavior and nutritional needs on the evolution of intestinal symbionts. Current projects include the study of signals that coordinate the physiology and development of intestinal bacteria with the feeding activity of their host. We are also interested in[...]