01
Communities and mobile genetic elements
I study bacteria, archaea, and their mobile genetic elements as interacting parts of microbial ecosystems. Genome reconstruction and gene-expression analyses help me investigate how metabolism, gene exchange, and ecological interactions shape community structure.
My work spans archaea in wetland soils and biofilms sustained by deeply sourced groundwater, connecting microbial diversity to carbon, sulfur, and hydrogen cycling. I am interested in how these interactions influence biofilm formation and the organization of microbial communities.
Microbial ecology / Mobile genetic elements / Biofilms
02
Enzyme diversity and innovation
Life has evolved for at least 3.5 billion years, generating an extraordinary diversity of proteins. Yet many remain functionally unannotated or lack an experimentally established function. I connect environmental genomics, evolutionary analysis, and biochemistry to uncover what these proteins do and how their activities support life in natural environments.
Our work on archaeal hydrogenases revealed active minimal and hybrid enzymes, expanding the known diversity of hydrogen metabolism. These discoveries motivate my broader interest in how evolution generates new enzyme architectures, reactions, and biological roles.
Protein function / Enzyme evolution / Biochemistry
03
Chemical signals in microbial defense
In the Doudna Lab, I investigate where defense signals originate and what happens to the nucleic acid fragments produced during an immune response. I combine biochemistry, bacterial genetics, and structural biology to explore new chemical mechanisms, including tRNA as a potential source of second messengers.
By tracing how these molecules are generated, recognized, transformed, and cleared, I aim to understand how cells activate defense and control its duration. Resolving this chemistry could reveal how microbes balance protection with survival and provide a foundation for new molecular tools.
Defense signaling / RNA chemistry / Structural biology
Current postdoctoral research · UC Berkeley