Our lab's focus is on the evolutionary ecology of microbial host-parasite interactions. We combine molecular genetics, phylogenetics and experimentation to study diverse insect systems. The lab's research will be increasingly informed by bioinformatic approaches to discover genes involved in the adaptation of hosts and their parasites.

The lab is headed by Dr. Nicole Gerardo, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Emory University. Nicole is broadly interested in how hosts adapt to defend against pathogens and how pathogens then adapt to overcome these host defenses. She is also interested in how mutualistic microbes may play a role in defending their hosts against pathogens. To address these topics, she has utilized the versatility of insect–pathogen systems in which both the host insects and their associated microbes can be maintained in the laboratory.