Research Interests:

Microbiology, quorum sensing, regulatory small RNAs, signal transduction, host-pathogen interactions, microbial biofilms.

Our lab studies molecular mechanisms important for microbial interactions. Bacteria are genetically encoded with regulatory networks to integrate external information that tailors gene expression to particular niches. Bacteria use chemical signals to orchestrate behaviors that facilitate both cooperation and conflict with members of the communities they inhabit. We use genetics and genomics, biochemistry, bioinformatics, and ecological approaches with a focus on the waterborne pathogen Vibrio cholerae.