​Holly L. Lutz, PhD
Assistant Project Scientist
Department of Pediatrics | Center for Microbiome Innovation
University of California San Diego School of Medicine

I am a project scientist in the Center for Microbiome Innovation at UCSD School of Medicine, and a scientific affiliate with the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, IL. I study the ecology and evolution of host-symbiont systems and the immunological mechanisms underlying observed patterns of association. My research integrates natural history collections with metagenomic, metabolomic, and histological methods to investigate the evolutionary processes shaping these associations in animal systems. I also apply these methods to clinical and experimental investigations into the role of bacterial symbionts in humans and disease phenotypes. Continuing interests and collaborations involve comparative phylogenetics and biogeography of malarial parasites and related haemosporidia. I am actively involved in biotic inventories of tropical ecosystems with a focus on the Afrotropics. I received my Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology ('16) from Cornell University, where I was affiliated with the Department of Ecology and Evolution, the Lab of Ornithology, and the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

I believe in equity, diversity, and inclusion, and promote these values in the courses I teach and the students I mentor.
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Press

• "Bugs find bats to bite thanks to bacteria: Important parallels to other vector-borne pathways for disease transmission" (NSF Research News, 2021)
• "By studying wild bats, alum seeks clues to COVID-19 immunity" (UChicago News, 2020)
• "Scientists find mammal with unusual assortment of gut bacteria" (iflscience.com 2020)
• ​"The secret to flight in birds and bats is not just wings, it's guts" (Quirks & Quarks, CBC 2020)
• "The birds and the bats: Evolving to fly may have had big effect on gut microbiome" (SciGlow. 2020)
• ​"Gut Bacteria: How bats 'shift the paradigm'" (MedicalNewsToday, 2019)
• "Bat Microbiome is Unique Among Mammals" (Microbial Minutes, American Society for Microbiology, 2019)
• "The cuttlefish may be flashy, but its microbiome is super simple" (www.sciencedaily.com, 2019)

• ​"Scientists probe new ways to control malaria" ​(Science news for students, 2018)

• ​"Study Reveals Evolution of Malaria" (www.Phys.org, 2016) ​
• "The Malaria Family Tree Leads Back to Birds" (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, www.AllAboutBirds.org, 2016)

• ​"Study of African Birds Reveals Hotbed of Malaria Parasite Diversity" (DrexelNOW, 2015)

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orcid.org/0000-0001-6454-809X