Microbiome
The microbial communities living within and upon us are dynamic evolving ecosystems that play key roles in our health. Members of the Microbiome research area study how our microbiota assembles, functions, evolves, responds to perturbations and is shaped by environmental factors such as diet and lifestyle. We investigate various aspects of the host-microbe molecular dialogue, from metabolite exchange to immune signaling, and how these interactions impact disease. Our research examines the genetics of the different constituent microbes and the interactions between them, for example, cooperation and gene exchange. Using highly interdisciplinary approaches, we aim to reveal the rules of microbiome genetics, ecology and evolution, with the goal of predicting, preventing, and treating disease.
Above: Human mucus
Matthew Bogyo
Professor of Pathology and, by courtesy, of Chemical and Systems Biology
Our laboratory is interested in identifying proteases produced by gut commensal bacteria that regulate host signaling to control inflammation, pain signaling and barrier function.
Dylan Dodd
Assistant Professor of Pathology
Our laboratory employs bacterial genetics, metabolomics, and gnotobiotic mouse colonization to uncover the chemistry that underlies host-microbe interactions in the gut.
Leonor García-Bayona
Assistant Professor of Microbiology & Immunology
Our lab seeks to understand how horizontal gene transfer shapes interactions within the human intestinal microbiota and what the implications of this widespread phenomenon are for community properties relevant to human health.
KC Huang
Professor of Bioengineering
We primarily focus on bacteria, in which the exquisite patterning of the interior in both space and time is critical for a wide variety of cellular functions. The wide variety of shapes and sizes that bacteria take on can be used as synthetic environment for studying the establishment of intracellular organization and the cellular response to perturbations in morphology
Justin Sonnenburg
Alex and Susie Algard Endowed Professor of Microbiology & Immunology
The goals of our lab are to elucidate the basic mechanisms that underlie dynamics within the gut microbiota and devise and implement strategies to prevent and treat disease in humans via the gut microbiota. We investigate the principles that govern gut microbial community function and interaction with the host using experimental systems ranging from gnotobiotic mice to humans.