Klas I. Udekwu, Ph.D.

Summary: My lab is interested in how microbes co-exist in communities of varying complexity. 100s of different bacteria can be found in the human GI-tract (gut). Many bacteria in the human large intestine have to grow in the absence of oxygen (anaerobically). Some of these bacteria who grow in such manner can tolerate oxygen at lower concentrations (facultative anaerobes) while others are totally sensitive to oxygen exposure (obligate anaerobes). We study the effects of antibiotics on these types of bacteria growing together similar to those in our own guts.

Minimum Courses: N/A

Projects: Population dynamics of anaerobic bacteria: Growing bacteria in anaerobic chambers with automated pate-reading, counting and presenting data, DNA and RNA extraction, sequencing of DNA. Antibiotic effects on bacterial growth. Competition within mixed communities of bacteria.