 Rachana Rao Battaje Postdoctoral fellow Joined August 2023 My research focuses on developing strategies to combat antimicrobial resistance. During my Ph.D., I worked on the discovery of new antibacterial agents, investigating bacterial cell division as an alternative target. Now in the QEM Lab, I focus on regulating existing antimicrobials by understanding how environmental factors shape antibiotic responses. My current project explores how nutrient availability influences the antibiotic susceptibility of pathogens, with the aim of using these findings to develop improved strategies for enhancing antibiotic efficacy. Outside the lab, I like yoga, reading, and being out in nature. |
 Ernesto Berríos-Caro Postdoctoral fellow Joined January 2025 My research focuses on developing mathematical models to uncover general principles of adaptation, with a focus on microbial systems. I aim to bridge the gap between theory and experiments. In the QEM lab, I study the predictability of evolution across biological scales and species diversity, using Candida yeast as a model to build a theoretical framework for evolutionary repeatability. My work is part of an HFSP-funded collaboration with Meike Wortel (University of Amsterdam) and Daniel Charlebois (University of Alberta). |
 Valeria Cardenas Master's student in Biomedical Sciences Joined May 2025 I am currently a master's student in the Biomedical Sciences program. I am interested in learning about the gut microbiome and the roles of the bacteria that inhabit it, especially during early life. Since joining the QEM lab, my project has been studying the relationship between the presence of urea and the growth of bacteria in the gut microbiome. My current career goals are to pursue the MD or MD/PhD track. |
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 Smruti Dixit Ph.D. student in Quantitative Biomedicine Joined September 2024 I am driven by the pursuit of simple mathematical rules that govern living systems. My background involves modeling biological systems through mathematics, statistical physics, and statistics. My current work focuses on deciphering the key principles involved in the evolution of microbial cross-feeding communities. |
 Michael Manhart Assistant professor and group leader Joined October 2018 (ETH Zurich) then January 2023 (Rutgers) CV NCBI I am interested in the quantitative principles of biology, especially the ecology and evolution of microbial communities. My long-term goal is to develop for these systems a predictive theory, comparable to frameworks in the physical sciences, that we can use to solve important microbiological problems in human health. I am also generally interested in biophysics and statistical physics. |
 Duhita Sant Postdoctoral fellow Joined August 2023 NCBI My research focuses on how microbial communities shape the evolution of bacteria and bacteriophages. In my Ph.D., I demonstrated that communities drive phage evolution by selecting for broad host-range phages. During my first postdoc at Oxford, I explored how environmental stress, such as pH, affects coevolutionary dynamics within natural bacterial communities, finding that these communities exhibit resilience to such perturbations. Now, in the QEM lab, I study how spatial dynamics and interspecies interactions shape evolutionary processes in communities of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus in cystic fibrosis by examining the impact of these interactions on mutant fitness, using transposon-insertion mutants as proxies for loss-of-function mutations. |
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 Akhila Sasikala Ph.D. student in Ecology and Evolution Joined September 2026 I am drawn to using mathematical reasoning to understand the fundamental processes that shape evolution in biological systems. I am particularly excited by how ecological interactions shape the stability and structure of microbial communities. I completed my BS-MS degree at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Thiruvananthapuram in 2025, where I examined the effects of sublethal antibiotic concentrations on bacteria. As a QEM PhD student, I will combine experimental and theoretical approaches to investigate how different types of interactions influence the fitness of microbial communities. Outside of work, I read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy, and enjoy birding and herping. |
 Samuel Yarkoni Undergraduate student in Computer Science, Data Science, and Economics Joined May 2026 I am an undergraduate in the School of Arts and Sciences studying computer science, data science, and economics. I enjoy finding efficient solutions to complex problems under resource constraints, and I am drawn to interdisciplinary fields like game theory and predictive evolution. In the QEM lab, I am working on predicting evolution at multiple scales of biology, specifically on S. cerevisiae populations. |
