Dr. Cecilia Noecker

This research group uses microbiology, genomics, and bioinformatics to uncover the lifestyles and ecological roles of diverse microbes living in and on humans and other animals. They focus especially on gut members of the phylum Actinobacteria that have been overlooked because they grow slowly, metabolize unconventional nutrients, and/or may be rarely found in urban human populations. The researchers aim to describe their prevalence and evolution across environments and to analyze and model their growth and physiology. These findings may inform the design of microbiome-targeted therapeutics and the interpretation of microbiome differences in health and disease.