My research goal is to elucidate and exploit the multitrophic interactions among and between microbiome and the plant environment that influence the health and productivity of managed and natural systems, especially in response to environmental change. Areas of my research interest are broad and include (1) microbial ecology; (2) “omics” technologies; (3) plant-microbe-insect interactions; (4) predictive computational modeling; and (5) microbiome engineering. Research projects in my lab will address the assembly, fitness and roles of plant, insect, and soil-associated microbiomes; how these are influenced by various biotic and abiotic factors; and what are their consequences on plant productivity, agro- ecosystems sustainability, and local and global level ecological processes. By providing systems-level understanding of plant microbiomes the research will develop new computational tools and host/microbiome models that enable plant breeders and plant ecologists to predict beneficial interactions to achieve improved yields and plant resilience in changing environments.
