The intestinal microbiota is a vital organ critical to the development, functioning, and health of the human the host. Our research focus is to characterize how disruptions in this community affect the onset and progression of diseases and conditions e.g., obesity, colorectal cancer, and inflammatory bowel diseases. By applying microbial ecology principles and leveraging next-generation sequencing technologies, our goal is to develop targeted, microbiota-based therapies to improve patient outcomes.