Host–pathogen–microbiome interactions

Dr Chava Weitzman is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods (RIEL) at Charles Darwin University.

In the seminar 'Host–pathogen–microbiome interactions: A look at tortoises and songbirds', Chava will focus on the relative ease and challenges of studying emerging diseases in two groups of hosts, tortoises and house finches, each impacted by a bacterial Mycoplasma pathogen.

Tortoises in North America are protected and sparse on the landscape. Just as tortoises are slow, so are their infections, with delayed impacts to individuals that make patterns difficult to study. In contrast, house finches are abundant, easy to keep in captivity, and are quickly impacted by mycoplasmal infection. The seminar will touch on what has been learned about the ecology of these diseases in light of differences in the two hosts.

Chava is studying skin microbiome communities of reptiles and amphibians with Prof. Keith Christian and Prof. Karen Gibb at RIEL. The work presented in this seminar summarises topics she addressed during her previous postdoctoral position at Virginia Tech and her PhD work at the University of Nevada, Reno, both in the USA.