Caitlin Kowalski, MCB '20

Our research explores how the skin microbiome influences local and systemic health with the goal of developing microbe-based therapies for chronic and widespread skin diseases. We focus on lipophilic fungi and bacteria, how they colonize the skin and how they interact with each other, the host, and skin pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus. By uncovering how these interactions modulate skin inflammation and disease, we aim to identify therapeutic strategies to promote skin homeostasis, prevent pathogen overgrowth, and reduce inflammation.