Pereira Lab
We aim to decode the molecular mechanisms that regulate microbes’ ability to produce natural products, with the goal of harnessing those processes to advance human and planetary health.
In nature, microbes live in a complex equilibrium of competition, cooperation, and mutualism. Natural products mediate these interspecies interactions and responses to ecological changes, dictating the rules of microbial coexistence. This has led to the evolution of an astonishing array of complex natural products that can be harnessed to address critical global health and planetary challenges.
The Pereira lab uses systems and synthetic biology approaches to engineer microbes. These approaches provide a foundation for the production of novel, unnatural analogues and low-abundance natural products, giving us access to the full biosynthetic potential of microbes. We also engineer synthetic microbial communities to expand microbiome engineering solutions for molecule diversification and bioremediation.
