Current Research
Margaret McFall-Ngai, a pioneer in symbiosis research for almost 30 years, has developed the squid-vibrio model as the first genetically tractable, natural animal-microbe association. Leveraging this leadership, she hopes to transform biology education by developing a new curriculum that incorporates an evolved view of the biosphere and promotes the integration of microbiology and macrobiology into a single, comprehensive “systems biology.” As a result of technology-enabled, low-cost, and high-throughput DNA sequencing, biologists now know that all life forms exist as nested ecosystems, and that interactions with microbes are integral drivers of health and homeostasis in the biological world.