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Welcome to the Wright Lab

Department of Biomedical Informatics
University of Pittsburgh


The Wright Lab uses experimental and computational approaches to study how microorganisms fight for survival. In particular, we seek to tackle the problem of antibiotic resistance through understanding the evolution of both antibiotic-producing microbes and antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

Five fundamental questions motivate research in the lab:
  • How do naturally antibiotic-producing bacteria ward off resistance?
  • How do genomes evolve to compensate for newly acquired traits?
  • What is the optimal strategy for treating bacterial pathogens in the clinic?
  • Can we learn to speak the language of the microbiome?
  • What insights can be gleaned from millions of microbial genomes?

Our lab is composed of interdisciplinary scientists who complement computing with laboratory experiments. We have open positions for postdocs, graduate, and undergraduate students with interests in evolution, microbiology, bioinformatics, and quantitative biology.