Research Interests:

We study the interactions between organisms that live in soil (plants, fungi, and invertebrates) and the various fascinating ways that they interact with their (bacterial) microbiomes, melding classical organismal biology with modern microbial ecology to understand how diversity of interactions contributes to functional outcomes. We address fundamental questions in soil microbiology and organismal interactions (i.e. symbioses) that could lead to concepts and products that directly benefit the environment and society. We use transdisciplinary approaches, with strength in ‘omics techniques to answer our questions.

The major focus of the lab is the interactions between two of the most ubiquitous groups of soil microorganisms – fungi and bacteria. We are interested in understanding who are interacting with each other, how they interact, and what are the important impacts of these interactions to ecosystem function, especially the soil environment.