Ratzke Lab

Microbes usually don’t live isolated but together with myriads of other microbes in large communities, in the environment as well as on and in our bodies. Despite their importance for human health, we have very limited understanding of the mechanisms that shape and govern these communities.

The Ratzke lab is particularly interested in understanding, describing and predicting the interactions between microbes (i), investigating how these interactions shape complex microbial communities (ii) and uncovering whether ecological forces within microbial communities can be used for medical purposes (iii). Using a combination of mathematical modeling and experimental approaches, including C. elegans as a model organism, the long-term goal of the lab is to understand how interactions between microbes can prevent microbial infections.

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