Originally
trained as a physiologist, I am also a microbiologist with specific training
and expertise in top
quality research dedicated to the improvement
of human health. My research focuses on the application of microbial genomics,
comparative genomics and metagenomic approaches to the study of host-bacteria
interactions and the microbial populations colonizing the human body. After
I received my Ph.D from the University of Reims-Champagne Ardenne in France
in 2000, where I studied the interactions between Staphyloccus aureus and the
human respiratory epithelium, I completed a postdoctoral training in the laboratory
of Dr. Gordon Archer (Richmond, VA) carrying out research focused on the study
of antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus and epidermidis, using both
comparative genomics and transcriptomics (expression profiling using microarrays)
approaches. I then joined The Institute for Genome Research (TIGR; Rockville,
MD) as a Staff Scientist in 2002 and later the J. Craig Venter Institute, where
I actively participated in numerous genome-sequencing projects (such as Campylobacter
sp., Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis)
and developed a strong expertise in genomics, comparative genomics as well
as metagenomics. More recently, I joined as an Assistant Professor the Department
of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine
(SOM) and the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS), where I developed a strong
expertise in microbiome analyses, both at the microbiome level (microbial species
composition and abundance), but also at the functional level (gene expression).
These metagenomic projects focus on the microbial communities inhabiting the
human gut and the impact they might have on diseases such as diabetes and Crohnfs
disease (Dr. Fraser-Liggett), the characterization of the microbial communities
inhabiting the oral cavity of healthy adult subjects, as well as the microbiome
of the anterior nares and the impact of gdecolonizationh regimens. |