My research explores how the human gut microbiome develops during infancy and early childhood, and how this process relates to brain development. I aim to build a quantitative understanding of the temporal dynamics that shape the microbiome early in life – particularly in a global context, where comparing cohorts across continents reveals both shared and population-specific developmental trajectories.
My primary goal is to identify critical periods during which early-life exposures or pressures influence the maturation strategy and trajectory of the gut microbial community. This time-centered perspective enables a longitudinal view of microbiome development, distinguishing normative patterns from early deviations that may forecast later health outcomes.
I also dedicate significant effort to developing bioinformatic tools and protocols for the longitudinal analysis of neurodevelopmental phenotypes from metagenomic shotgun sequencing data. My research is accompanied by a growing collection of open-source software libraries, analysis notebooks, and container images that redistribute models, methods, and data for transparent, reproducible science.
Below is a selection of ongoing and past projects. Each entry links to a dedicated page with more detail.
