The Vega Lab is part of the Biology Department at Emory University.
Our work focuses on combining experiments in synthetic ecological microcosms with mathematical modeling to study fundamental questions in theoretical ecology and evolutionary systems biology. A major focus of the group is the ecology and evolution of host-associated microbial communities, using C. elegans as a model host organism.
Broadly, our work focuses on the function and composition of populations in natural environments and the possibilities for external control of these populations. In particular, we investigate the establishment, maintenance, and stress-induced dynamics of host-associated populations and the effects of environmental variation and spatial structure on community function. Recent work in the lab explores genomics and evolution, particularly in the context of antibiotic resistance in host-associated microbial communities.
For more information, see my CV and Google Scholar page or contact me.
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New preprint
Our investigation of the statistical properties of count-based data (specifically worm bacterial load measurements) in biological averaging is up on bioRxiv: Taylor, Megan, and Nic Vega. 2022. “Batching Inflates Error Rates in Microbial Colonization of Caenorhabditis Elegans: An Empirical Investigation of the Statistical Properties of Count-Based Data.” bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.07.25.501406.
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New paper in JoVE
New paper on single-worm protocols at JoVE! Taylor, Megan, Satya Spandana Boddu, and Nic Vega. 2022. “Using Single-Worm Data to Quantify Heterogeneity in Caenorhabditis Elegans-Bacterial Interactions | Protocol.” Journal of Visualized Experiments : JoVE. https://doi.org/10.3791/64027.
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New paper in mSystems
Now published at mSystems: Taylor, Megan, and N. M. Vega. 2021. “Host Immunity Alters Community Ecology and Stability of the Microbiome in a Caenorhabditis Elegans Model.” MSystems 6 (2). https://doi.org/10.1128/mSystems.00608-20.