Karasov Lab
Principal Investigator: Talia Karasov
Institution: University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
Primary Subfield: Molecular & Cell Bio
Recruitment Status: ✅ Accepting PhD Students
Research Focus
Of all the potential pathogens around us, we, like other multicellular species, can typically be infected by only a small subset. However, when a microbe manages to break such host barriers, it can quickly spread through the new host population. To predict when a pathogen will make a host jump, we need to understand what limits pathogen adaptation to different host environments. My research program focuses on investigating the factors that limit the adaptation of microbes to new host environments. Specifically, I address this question from the perspective of an evolutionary geneticist and microbiologist. I identify bacterial genetic mechanisms important for colonizing different hosts and use comparative and functional genomics to understand how they evolve. Recent work from myself and others demonstrated that both host genetics and the surrounding microbes influence the ability of a pathogen to move between hosts. The relative importance of host genetics and surrounding organisms as well as interactions between these factors are largely unknown. I recently developed a study system in the broad host range bacterial genus Pseudomonas that lays the groundwork for studying what limits…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R35GM150722-04: Identifying limitations on microbial host jumps (2026)
- 5R35GM150722-03: Identifying limitations on microbial host jumps (2025)
- 5R35GM150722-02: Identifying limitations on microbial host jumps (2024)
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