Cornell Research

Expertise

Human microbiome; metagenomic analysis; synthetic biology; antibiotic resistance

Current Research Interest

Examining mechanisms by which the gut microbiota are involved in disease; Pioneering new methods to detect horizontal gene transfer in natural microbial communities; Understanding the rates and triggers of horizontal gene transfer; the impact of human microbiome diversity on world global health issues

Distinction

Packard Fellow
Sloan Research Fellow
Pew Foundation Research Scholar
National Institutes of Health New Innovator Award
Rainin Foundation Innovator Award
World Economic Forum Young Scientist
College of Engineering Research Excellence Award

Selected Publications

Brito, Ilana L., Thomas Gurry, Shijie Zhao, Katherine Huang, Sarah K. Young, Terrence P. Shea, Waisea Naisilisili,  et all. “Transmission of Human-Associated Microbiota along Family and Social Networks.” Nature Microbiology 4 (2019): 964-971.

Brito, Ilana L., Suzan A. Yilmaz, Katherine Huang, Liyi Xu, Stacy D. Jupiter, Aaron P. Jenkins, Waisea Naisilisili, et al. “Mobile Genes in the Human Microbiome Are Structured from Global to Individual Scales.” Nature 535 (2016): 435–439.

Cornell Research Website Article

When Antibiotics Won't Work