Our knowledge on the possibility of life in the universe is based on a single example—life on Earth. For most of Earth’s history, microorganisms have been the key players of global biogeochemical cycles, which in turn transformed the habitability and productivity of our planet. While we have an ever-growing understanding of how microorganisms interact with their environment today, our knowledge of their past remains incomplete.

We ask:

• Did microbial life function the same way in the past?
• How did microbes and their metabolisms evolve over time?
• What are the environmental and ecological drivers of microbial metabolic evolution?

Our lab approaches these questions using both computational and experimental methods. Computationally, we assess phylogenomic relationships between microorganisms, their genomes, and their surroundings (both cellular and environmental) to reconstruct historical patterns and understand the underlying processes driving molecular innovation. Experimentally, we validate our computational hypotheses where appropriate and we use model microorganisms to study relationships between genes and phenotypes under different conditions.

Current projects

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