My pronouns are he/him
Microorganisms in free-living environments are foundational to healthy ecosystem function. Host-associated microbes likewise provide important ecosystem services to plant and animal life and are hypothesized to facilitate rapid ecological adaptation in host populations. Host-associated and environmental microbiomes can also be intertwined, influencing each other by affecting nutrient inputs, mediating plant-herbivore interactions, or through the direct exchange of microbes or microbial genes.
Broadly, I use community ecology and quantitative genetic approaches to quantify the causes and consequences of microbiome variation. I am particularly interested in understanding: (i) causal connections between the microbiome and host fitness and phenotypes, (ii) genetic and non-genetic inheritance of microbiome variation within host populations, and (iii) (in)direct effects of host-associated microbiomes on ecosystem function. In a broader ecosystem context, I am keen to explore the interplay between environmental and host-associated microbiomes, and the contributions of environmental microbiomes to critical biogeochemical cycles.
