Our
Projects
We are actively working on characterizing microbial community assemblages, and host-microbe interactions in environmental reservoirs.
RENEW Phage Pathways:
STEM training to characterize bacterial
resistance mechanisms towards phages and contribution to bioenergy production.
(PI Anand, supported by Department of Energy 2025-2028)
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​Phage pathways aims to cultivate a new generation of scientists at the intersection of microbial ecology and renewable energy. Read more here.
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BRaVE Phage Foundry
(Co-I Anand, supported by Department of Energy 2023-2026)
The Phage Foundry is an interdisciplinary capability building a high-throughput platform for rapid design and development of countermeasures to combat emerging drug-resistant pathogens.
Read about what we are working on here.
Microbial drivers of oyster restoration (PI Anand, supported by State of California Coastal Conservancy and SFSU ORSP)
The native oyster Ostrea lurida, like other oyster species, harbors a diverse range of microbes both inside and on its shell surface. These microbes play crucial roles in maintaining the oyster’s health and supporting ecosystem functions, particularly in nutrient cycling and protection against pathogens. We're now realizing that a critical piece of the puzzle might be invisible to the naked eye - the microbiome.
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Read about what we are working on here.
Educational Pathway Development Programs
One area we are passionate about is pathway programs for workforce development in microbiology. To this end, PI Anand promotes undergraduate led projects (see latest paper here) and is Co-I on a State of California Coastal Conservancy funded project to develop an educational pathway program on nature-based solutions for community college students. To date, we have 10 community college participants and growing.
