Research

Augmented phage therapies for the study and treatment of bacteria in situ.

Bacteriophage are natural predators of bacteria. Our group co-opts and improves upon their evolved capabilities to infect and kill these microbes in situ

Role of phage in virulence in plant and human pathogens.

Bacteriophage are potent mediators of horizontal gene transfer. This project focuses on the role they are playing in the spread of virulence and drug resistance.

Engineered bacteriophage host/pair modeling in complex communities

This is a undergraduate and post-bac lead project focusing on genetically engineered phage/host pairs. We are investigating the utility of mixed-lifestyle bacteriophage under various environmental conditions for the transformation, engineering, and killing of target bacteria in situ. This is foundational work that will lead to identification of optimal therapeutic phage across a broad range of bacterial communities, targets, and conditions.