Cornell University · BiologyAntimicrobial Peptide Research Lab
Brian Lazzaro · Ithaca, New York
Research Focus
Dr. Brian Lazzaro's lab at Cornell University studies antimicrobial peptides, which are crucial for defending against bacterial infections. By using the fruit fly model, Drosophila melanogaster, the lab explores how these peptides work and evolve. The goal is to understand their mechanisms in order to design new antimicrobial treatments that target specific pathogens more effectively.
antimicrobial peptidesDrosophila melanogasterantibacterial specificityevolutionary geneticspathogen resistance
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate the specificity of antimicrobial peptides against opportunistic bacterial pathogens.
AIM 02Understand the evolutionary dynamics of antimicrobial peptides in response to environmental microbes.
AIM 03Engineer novel antimicrobial peptides with targeted activity against specific pathogens.
AIM 04Map genotype-phenotype relationships for Drosophila melanogaster resistant to bacterial infections.
AIM 05Assess the molecular targets of specific antimicrobial peptides through bacterial genetic screening.
Skills the Lab Values
in vivo experimentationin vitro assaysgenetic screeningPCRpopulation geneticsprotein synthesismolecular evolutiondata analysisbioinformatics
Output against the department
Publications143top 48% of dept.493rd of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations12ktop 32% of dept.327th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.