My name is Zack and I am an ecologist and microbiologist. I am currently a Bioinformatics Scientist at BIOMILQ after graduating as a PhD student in Duke University’s Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. I joined the David lab to research new ways to engineer community structure in the human microbiome to achieve a desired ecosystem service.
Before coming to Duke I was an ORISE research fellow at the CDC in the Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch. There I researched the microbiomes of ticks and the associations between tick borne human pathogens and endosymbiotic bacteria.
Previously I received my BS in Ecology and Biology from the University of Georgia, where I researched oyster reef predators, marine parasite ecology, invasion ecology, and inter-tidal ecosystem engineering.
When given the chance I spend my time outside, either biking, hiking, running, or reading science fiction and fantasy.