Molly Bletz, Ph.D. Principal Investigator and Assistant Professor, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Pennsylvania State University

Decoding Mechanisms of Microbiome-Mediated Immunity

Abstract

This novel research seeks to understand how host microbes interact with invading pathogens. While research often focuses on a pathogen in isolation, Dr. Bletz is interested in exploring how disease outcomes are driven by complex interactions between fungal pathogens and the host’s resident bacteria, a framework she’s calling the “infectome.” Dr. Bletz’s proposal includes designing and testing synthetic microbial communities with varying compositions to examine host-pathogen dynamics. This research has implications in combating the growing threat of fungal diseases in a variety of ecosystems. As noted by one Scientifc Advisory Board member, “the scope [of this research] is very ambitious, not just in the breadth of experimental combinations and replicates that are to be performed but also in the data collection, interpretation and integration…this is cool, foundational research.”

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