Welcome to the Microbial Ecosystems Lab @ ASU!

Exploring the rules of microbial life — one interaction at a time.

We study how microbiomes assemble, function, and evolve in natural ecosystems. Our research asks: how do bacterial behaviors and intercellular interactions shape the composition and activity of microbial communities?

What we do:

We combine time-lapse microscopy, microfluidics, automated image analysis, transcriptomics, and experimental evolution to track microbial interactions at single-cell resolution. We link these microscale dynamics to large-scale patterns using genomic data from natural communities.

Big picture:

Our goal is to uncover general principles that explain how microbial interactions drive ecological and evolutionary dynamics — shaping everything from biogeochemical cycles that sustain planetary health to the stability of microbiomes in humans and animals.

What's next:

We’re excited to expand our work into understanding how environmental change alters microbiome function — and to harness microbial interactions to design communities with tailored functions.

Join Us:

We are always looking for motivated and curious individuals to join our team. If you are interested in exploring the complex interactions that shape microbial communities, we would love to hear from you. We currently have open positions for postdoctoral researchers — apply here. Prospective graduate students can apply to join the lab through the Biochemistry PhD or Microbiology PhD programs at ASU, and are encouraged to reach out to Glen to discuss potential research directions. Undergraduate students interested in gaining research experience in microbial ecology, microbial imaging, or data analysis are also welcome to contact Glen directly.

Where?

Our group is based at the Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics (CFAM) and the School of Molecular Sciences (SMS) at Arizona State University (ASU).