I study how microbial genomes evolve and interact with humans, using both experimental and computational methods.

Adaptation in the human gut microbiome

The bacterial genomes found in our guts contain 100 times more genes than the human genome. Most bacterial genes have an ancient history of mutation, selection, and exchange between species, which is partially shaped by bacterial viruses called phage. As a postdoc in the Sonnenburg Lab, I am studying how microbial genomes adapt to human diets and human mucus.

Antigenic variation in malaria parasites

Humans need to be infected by P. falciparum parasites many, many times before they acquire natural immunity to malaria. One reason is that the genomes of malaria parasites are extremely variable at genes that interact with the human immune system. As a graduate student with Dmitri Petrov and postdoc with Elizabeth Egan, I found that malaria parasites maintain “extra” copies of these antigenic genes on extrachromosomal, circular DNA. This discovery raises many questions, including how the extra copies are made and whether they help P. falciparum evolve more quickly.