Email

al28@bcm.edu

Positions

Predoctoral Fellow- Graduate Student

Molecular Virology and Microbiology
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX US
Member of the KLemon Lab

Education

BS from University of Louisiana at Lafayette

05/2019 - Lafayette, Louisiana United States

Professional Interests

• Host epithelial interactions with the human nasal microbiome

Professional Statement

My long-term goal as a graduate student in the KLemon Lab is to use human nasal organoid models (nasanoids) to learn how nasal microbiota influence host immune responses to the pathobiont Staphylococcus aureus, a common member of the nasal microbiota that is also a common cause of disease in humans. Recurrent and antibiotic-resistant S. aureus infections are growing problems. I am investigating the potential of a common, benign member of human nasal microbiota, Dolosigranulum pigrum, to limit nasal colonization by S. aureus. Exploring how benign members of human nasal microbiota limit pathobiont colonization is a path to potential probiotic treatments and defining mechanisms for how to produce stable microbial communities that promote health.