Corinne Maurice

Biography

Division:  Faculty Members Branch:  Microbiology Location:  Lyman Duff Medical Building

Research Interest

Current research:  The human gut is home to trillions of microbial cells, bacteriophages (viruses specific to bacteria), fungi, and eukaryotes; collectively referred to as the gut microbiota. The gut microbiota is key to human health: it is central to our digestion, synthesizes essential vitamins, metabolizes therapeutic drugs, and shapes host immunity; yet we have no clear understanding of the metabolic activities performed by individual members of this complex community. This is a critical gap to overcome in our pursuit of personalized medicine.  Research in the lab aims to address two major goals: 1. Identify and characterize the metabolically active microbial members of the gut microbiota. 2. Determine the role of bacteriophages as regulators of the active gut microbiota.  Combining single-cell and metagenomics approaches to the study of the human gut microbiota, our projects aim to explore human health from a microbial standpoint. Ultimately, our goal is to increase our understanding of the ecological processes and interactions between the different members of the gut microbiota, focusing on bacteria and phages, in order to modulate them and restore a healthy gut microbiota after clinically relevant perturbations.