Jeff Gore, Ph.D.

Research

Our laboratory uses microbes as experimental model systems to probe fundamental theories in evolutionary dynamics and quantitative ecology. A core interest of the lab is to explore the conditions required for the evolution of cooperative behaviors. Model systems include the cooperative growth of yeast on the sugar sucrose and the cooperative inactivation of antibiotics by bacteria. We also study how interactions between mutations can constrain the mutational paths available to evolution, as some mutations are beneficial only in the presence of other mutations. Finally, we are using laboratory microbial populations to explore signatures of populations close to extinction.