Garud Lab Postdoc

Evolution of Complex Traits in the Gut Microbiome

I am currently a postdoc in the Garud Lab, where I research signatures of adaptation in the human gut microbiome.

The human gut microbiome is home to trillions of microbes that are profoundly important for human health. Researchers estimate that nearly a billion new mutations arise within a single host per day (Zhao 2019). But connecting these mutations to clinical outcomes is challenging. I’m interested in answering questions like:

• Do mutations act independently, or do they interact in complex ways?
• What genomic signatures can we use to identify adaptations, both simple and complex?

Fellowships

• UCLA Quantitative and Computational Biosciences Collaboratory Postdoctoral Fellow

Mentees

• Brendan Aeria (Computational and Systems Biology Class of 2028), mentored Spring 25 - Present
  • Using domain adapted neural network to identify selective sweeps