The primary focus of the Microbial Genomics Laboratory is to use high-throughput sequencing and other functional genomic technologies to understand the biology and genomic diversity of parasitic protists, viruses, and bacteria with significant impact on human and animal health. Genome and transcriptome sequencing of these organisms is a critical first step toward our understanding of how these organisms grow and thrive in a susceptible host and in other environments.   A better understanding of their biology could eventually lead to the development of new intervention strategies.

Within this program, a combination of high-throughput DNA and RNA sequencing-based methods, coupled with functional genomics and bioinformatics tools are being used to answer one or more of the following questions:

• What is the genetic makeup of a pathogen?
• What makes an organism pathogenic?
• How does a pathogen evolve in natural populations?
• How does a pathogen interact with its host?