My interests are widespread across microbes, animals, and plants. I have an interest in the intersection of conservation biology and genetics with an emphasis on endangered species in trade. Lately, I have been focusing on urban biodiversity either in the marketplace (food) or in semi-natural conditions (parks and built environment). I maintain strong ties to the AMNH Sackler Inst. for Comparative Genomics working on conservation genetics of animals (with George Amato) and phylogenomics (with Rob DeSalle). Under the umbrella of the NSF-funded New York Plant Genomics Consortium (http://nypg.bio.nyu.edu) we are studying the evolution of the seed plants using next-generation sequencing technology and bioinformatics approaches across multiple institutions (NYU, AMNH, NYBG, CSHL). In a different project funded by an NIH R01 grant, we are investigating retroviral dynamics in modern and ancient samples of koalas in collaboration with the Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian), California State Univ, Fullerton, the Leibniz Inst. for Zoo & Wildlife Res., Berlin, and the Univ. of Copenhagen Centre for GeoGenetics. With respect to bacteria, we are investigating the tempo and mode of epidemiological evolution of M. tuberculosis and S. aureus using genomic tools in an urban setting with PHRI-UMDNJ and CUMC. New interests include microbial metagenomics in disturbed environments and invasive species. Over the past few years I have been developing new collaborations with colleagues at the Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo), the New York Botanical Garden, Columbia Univ. Medical Center, Weill-Cornell Medical College, and the Public Health Res. Inst. at UMDNJ
