My research involves the study of surface-attached bacterial communities called biofilms. Infectious bacterial biofilms have caught the eye of microbiologists because they are intrinsically resistant to antibiotic therapy and to immune clearance. Because biofilms are involved in many chronic and device-associated infections, it is imperative that we better understand the factors that contribute to their resistance to treatment and evasion of the immune system. My laboratory uses molecular genetics, genomics, biochemistry and experimental evolution to investigate two important aspects of biofilm microbiology
