University of Chicago
Our lab pioneers cutting-edge computational approaches to map the intricate networks connecting human biology with our microbial ecosystems.
By integrating genomics, deep learning, and systems biology, our research reveals fundamental principles of host-microbiome crosstalk that shape human health, disease susceptibility, and evolutionary adaptation.
Abdill, Graham, et al. — Cell, 2025
Ferretti et al. — Nature Reviews Genetics, 2025
Johnson et al. — Cell Genomics, 2024
Priya et al. — Nature Microbiology, 2022
Abdill et al. — PLOS Biology, 2022
Grieneisen et al. — Science, 2021
Translational Science 2026
Milwaukee, WI — Lauren Gonsalves
Janet D. Rowley Research Day
University of Chicago, Chicago, IL — Tess Brunner
University of Illinois
Chicago, IL — Ran Blekhman
Digestive Disease Week
Chicago, IL — Ran Blekhman, Lauren Gonsalves
Cell Symposia: Host-Microbiome Dynamics
Bruges, Belgium — Liz Gibbons
ASM Microbe
Washington, DC — JJ Colgan
Microbiome Conference
Cold Spring Harbor Labs, NY — Pamela Ferretti
Welcome to new PhD student Laura Xie!
03/2026Congrats to Dr. Sabrina Arif on defending her PhD!
03/2026Congrats to Dr. Kelsey Johnson on starting her new faculty position at USC!
09/2025Congrats to Dr. Samantha Graham on defending her PhD!
08/2025Welcome to new postdoctoral associate Lauren Gonsalves!
06/2025Welcome to new MD-PhD student Tess Brunner!
10/2024Congrats to Dr. Sambhawa Priya on being named a Chicago DFI Fellow!
09/2024Congrats to Dr. Mattea Allert on defending her PhD!
08/2024Congrats to Dr. Kelsey Johnson on her NIH K99 award!
07/2024
An ongoing project to build a dataset of the human microbiome at an unprecedented scale.
The Human Microbiome Compendium on the cover of Cell
Cell, 2025
Consequences of the globalized gut
University of Chicago, 2023
Studies of human microbiome ignored the developing world
Science, 2022
Is Staying Home Harming Your Child's Immune System?
New York Times, 2020
The Extinction Happening Inside You
MinuteEarth on YouTube, 2020
Coronavirus Research Is Moving at Top Speed — With a Catch
Wired, 2020
What bioRxiv's first 30,000 preprints reveal about biologists
Nature, 2019
The Secret About Human Evolution Found in Spit
The Guardian, 2017
Everything You Need to Know About Poop
New York Magazine, 2016
Is Gut Science Biased?
FiveThirtyEight, 2016
Giving Up Hunting & Gathering Changed Our Microbiome
Newsweek, 2016
The Emerging Field of Microbiome Science
HBO VICE, 2017