Bacterial infections still cause an estimated 7.7 million deaths each year, despite global efforts to develop vaccines, antibiotics, and innovative treatments such as phage therapy. This is partly because bacteria are a moving target: when their survival is threatened, they evolve.

For under-researched infectious diseases, such as enteric infections and neglected tropical diseases, we often do not know enough about their biology to anticipate how they will evolve and spread, or what makes a particular person susceptible to disease. 

My mission is to use data-driven approaches, such as genomics and systems immunology, to explore these infections without needing preconceived hypotheses. I am particularly focused on two major drivers of pathogen evolution in the gut: human immunity, and the viruses ("phages") that prey on and kill bacteria.