Holly L. Lutz, PhD Asst. Project Scientist Scripps Institution of Oceanography | Department of Pediatrics Center for Microbiome Innovation University of California San Diego
I am a scientist in the Center for Microbiome Innovation at UCSD and a research associate with the Integrative Research Center at the Field Museum of Natural History. I utilize a collections-based approach to study microbial symbionts, parasites, and pathogens in a diverse range of hosts, from Afrotropical mammals and birds to cephalopods and other marine invertebrates. My current research focuses on the use of metagenomic, metabolomic, and microscopic methods to assess eco-evolutionary links between hosts and their microbes. I am also involved in clinical and experimental approaches to understanding the role of bacterial symbionts in human disease phenotypes. Continuing interests and collaborations involve the evolution and ecology of malarial parasites and related haemosporidia, and biotic inventories of threatened ecosystems in the Afrotropics.