Our intestine contains trillions of microbes, that are collectively known as the “gut microbiota”. The gut microbiota is composed of hundreds of different microbial species, which fulfill many functions important for human physiology, including nutrient acquisition, development of the immune system, and protection against pathogens. An imbalance in the microbial community, termed “dysbiosis”, is associated with infections by enteric pathogens and also with many noncommunicable human diseases, such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), cancer, obesity, and even neurological disorders. However, the mechanisms driving this imbalance are incompletely understood.

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Our lab investigates the dynamic interactions between enteric pathogens, bacteriophages, the gut microbiota, and the host, in the intestinal environment. We aim to unravel the molecular mechanisms that control the intestinal environment in health, and to understand the progress of inflammatory diseases. We believe that our research will lead to the identification of new targets to treat bacterial infections and will lay the foundation for the development of new therapeutic approaches to target inflammatory diseases.