tobin dot hammer at utexas dot edu

​ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION OF INSECT-MICROBE SYMBIOSIS

Picture

​Welcome! I am fascinated by the evolution of symbiotic interactions between macro-organisms and micro-organisms. Although a lot of microbiome research is focused on humans and other mammals, nowhere are the forms and functions of symbiosis so diverse as among the insects. My work focuses on bees and Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths, and their larvae)--two ecologically and economically important groups that have interesting but also quite variable relationships with microbes.

My dissertation research in the Fierer lab and Bowers lab at CU Boulder integrated field collections, microbial community profiling and metagenomics, insect rearing and experiments, and natural history. I recently began a postdoc in the Moran lab at UT Austin, where I will be using comparative genomics, bacterial culture-based assays and genetic engineering, and in vivo experiments to study the gut microbiomes of social bees.

Please feel free to get in touch (tobin dot hammer at utexas dot edu) if you have any questions about my research! I am always glad to discuss bugs and microbes, and to share data, code, advice, thoughts and opinions.