My research focuses on uncovering the conserved genetic networks that regulate metamorphosis across diverse invertebrate species, exploring how microbial interactions have profoundly shaped these developmental pathways throughout evolutionary history. I am particularly intrigued by the idea that basal metazoans might have once possessed a unified regulatory system—one that integrated immunity, neural signaling, and developmental control, rather than separate differentiated systems seen in more complex organisms today.

I view development not merely as a predetermined genetic program but as a dynamic, interactive process shaped by continuous communication between organisms and their microbial communities (Bosch and Miller 2016). This perspective highlights that we are never isolated individuals; instead, we exist as ecosystems, continuously influenced and reshaped by microbial interactions that adaptively drive our evolution and physiology (Gilbert et al. 2012).

My work also seeks to understand how developing organisms cope with and adapt to fluctuating environmental and microbial stressors. What is particularly fascinating to me is the concept that organisms can harness cellular damage or stress—such as apoptosis induced by specific bacterial cues—as positive signals that alter developmental programs (Hill et al. 2022), enabling them to adaptively respond to challenging environments. At the molecular level, I'm interested in understanding the cellular decision-making processes that lead to differing apoptotic responses depending on specific microbial signals.

To deepen our understanding of animal-microbe symbioses, I am committed to developing innovative genetic tools for studying these processes in non-model organisms, such as the marine tubeworm Hydroides elegans. This species offers unique insights into host-microbe interactions and developmental regulation, providing an important window into the fundamental mechanisms underlying animal biology and evolution. I am interested in further adapting these tools to broadly apply them to a diverse range of invertebrates. 

References 

Bosch, Thomas CG, and David J. Miller. "The holobiont imperative." Vienna: Springer, doi 10 (2016): 978-3.

Gilbert, Scott F., Jan Sapp, and Alfred I. Tauber. "A symbiotic view of life: we have never been individuals." The Quarterly review of biology 87.4 (2012): 325-341.

Hill, Jennifer Hampton, et al. "BefA, a microbiota-secreted membrane disrupter, disseminates to the pancreas and increases β cell mass." Cell metabolism 34.11 (2022): 1779-1791.