Research

Research Overview

Even genetically identical bacterial cells grown under the same conditions often express different sets of genes and behave differently. Not unlike individual cells in the human body, they may assume specialized roles for the benefit of the whole community. We are developing and applying high-throughput single-cell genomic technologies to identify and characterize diverse functional subpopulations of bacteria within complex microbial samples. We are interested in unraveling the roles and behavior of individual bacteria in challenging environments such as the human host, and within structured multi-species communities known as biofilms.

Research Foci

  • Biofilm gene expression

    By employing single-cell RNA sequencing in conjunction with time-lapse imaging, we aim to create single-cell gene expression maps of model single- and multiple-species biofilms. Read more…

  • Host-pathogen interactions

    We aim to explain and predict the outcomes of intracellular infection at the level of individual interacting cells based on the simultaneous high-resolution measurements of both host and pathogen gene expression states. Read more…

  • Single-cell biology of microbiome

    Towards our ultimate goal of charting functional single-cell atlases of natural microbiomes in health and disease, we are developing targeted genomic and multiomic technologies based on combinatorial barcoding and prototyping them on defined consortia designed to mimic the natural human microbiota. Read more…

  • Biotechnology development

    We are passionate about developing, improving and repurposing high-throughput technologies for gaining insight into bacterial communities.  Read more…