Research Interests and Projects

My current research falls into two main projects:

1) What role does host genetics play in shaping the taxonomic or functional composition of the human gut microbiome?

Evolutionary changes in the human gut microbiome, what forces shape it in our daily lives, and how it affects human health, are all still hotly debated questions in the field. My research aims to contribute to the question of “how” the microbiome is shaped, whether it be primarily due to the environment (i.e. what we eat, where we live), or due to our genetics and ancestry.

2) How can we use statistical inference to assign mobile genetic elements to host organisms using WGS metagenomic sequencing?

A pressing issue of our time is the impending antimicrobial resistance crisis. Bacteria have the ability to share genes with each other, including antimicrobial resistance genes, thus contributing to the spread of resistance. If we can track antimicrobial resistance genes on a larger scale, whether through experimental or computational means, we might stand a better chance at fighting the spread of resistance.