Interactions in multi-species microscopic communities

In nature, microscopic organisms exist in communities comprising of multiple species. These communities can span in scale from small, multicellular aggregates to billions of cells. The composition and spatial organization within these communities are affected by interactions between its members, whether directly through physical or chemical means, or indirectly by competing for the same nutrients.

By understanding how interactions between cells and species affect the overall health of a bacterial community, this work has broad impacts in ecology, biotechnology, and human health. Further work could involve developing our findings into applications which include identifying a mix of species which form productive cooperative communities and could be used to optimize biotechnological yields. This work could also lead to new targeted therapeutics by disrupting important interactions to control infections or ecologically damaging algal blooms.

I am currently working on a project to study microbe-phage interactions. More details will be added as the project progresses, so check back soon!