Education & Training
- Ph.D., Zoology/Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Michigan State University, 2000
- A.B. magna cum laude, Biology, Amherst College, 1994
Research Interest Summary
How microbes adaptively evolve when colonizing new hosts; how bacteria form communities within biofilms; and why genome regions replicated at different times evolve at different rates.
Research Interests
- To understand how bacteria adapt to new environments and/or cause disease. Biofilm-associated infections are our primary focus. We conduct high-throughput genomic analysis of evolved populations and longitudinal studies of infectious isolates. We also develop genome-based diagnostics for bacterial infections.
- To advance understanding of evolutionary dynamics in structured communities, relevant to biofilms, solid tumors, and the origins of multicellularity.
- To explore variation in genome evolutionary rates associated with replication timing and the cell cycle to improve genome legibility, understand speciation, and to guide more rational treatment of disease states.
- To propagate experimental evolution as a both a) a nuanced screen for gain-of-function mutations and b) a method of active learning by students of all ages.