about us

our mission

We work both with both model cyanobacteria and with novel cyanobacterial isolates from naturally occurring communities. The lab has a current focus on querying a comprehensive 'omics dataset' acquired from the microbial mats in Yellowstone National Park, to understand resource-sharing fluctuations and phages in extreme environments. Projects in the lab include understanding phototaxis; the behavior of co-cultured organisms, developing genetic tools for undomesticated microbes and a long-term goal to build synthetic microbial communities.

devaki bhaya

I grew up in India, went to college in Kolkata and then to graduate school at Cornell University, where I studied plant biochemistry. I was mentored by Andre Jagendorf, and after a short postdoc, I returned to Delhi, India to teach at the Centre for Biotechnology, Jawaharlal University. For most of my research career, I have studied an ancient phylum of photosynthetic microbes or cyanobacteria. From a strictly reductionist approach, I have now become very interested in the organization and evolution of photosynthetic communities. I enjoy collaborating with scientists who have very different expertise than mine. I also enjoy reading poetry, walking, museums and exploring the intersection of art and science.

Favorite small green thing: Syenchococcus
Favorite large green thing: the blue oak Quercus douglasii.

X | LinkedIn | Publications

dbhaya@carnegiescience.edu

current lab members

  • Amanda Shelton

    POSTDOCTOAL FELLOW

    I received my B.S. in Biology from Caltech, and my Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of California, Berkeley. My Ph.D. research focused on vitamin B12 (and structurally similar cofactors called cobamides) biosynthesis and use in bacteria using both comparative genomics and physiological characterization of cobamide preference in Clostridioides difficile. In the Bhaya and Grossman labs, I am expanding my interest in microbial metabolism and interactions by studying how the hot spring mat microbes alter their metabolism over a diel cycle using omics and lab experiments. Outside of lab, you’ll find me hiking in both nature and the urban environment.

    Favorite green thing: avocado

    LinkedIn | ashelton@carnegiescience.edu

  • AyoOluwateso Coker

    GRADUATE STUDENT

    My name is AyoOluwateso Coker and I received my Bachelors Degree in Conservation and Environmental Science and my Masters Degree in Water Resource Sciences in a Limnology and Oceanography Track with a specialization in Biology. I am interested in the terrestrial-aquatic continuum and the impact on cyanobacterial blooms. In my free time I enjoy playing tennis, reading, fashion and traveling.

    coker103@stanford.edu

  • Emily Koke

    LAB MANAGER

    I'm moving to the Bay Area from Boulder, CO. I graduated in May 2022 from CU Boulder with two degrees in Biochemistry and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. During my first year at CU, I was involved with a field experiment concerning the grassland vegetation native to Colorado. Throughout my undergraduate, I worked in healthcare as a CNA and conducted a thesis project at the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI) on the light-harvesting antenna complex in cyanobacteria. Prior to joining the Bhaya and Grossman lab, I studied Arabidopsis thaliana through CRISPR multiplexing projects and outdoor garden experiments. I enjoy hiking, playing the fiddle, and hanging out with my dog.

    Favorite green thing: frogs

    LinkedIn | ekoke@carnegiescience.eu

some of our collaborators

  • Arthur Grossman

    Carnegie Institution for Science

  • Daniel Fisher

    Stanford Universiy

  • Seppe Kuehn

    University of Chicago

  • Alison Smith

    Cambridge University, UK

  • Chris Howe

    Cambridge University, UK

  • Todd Treangen

    Rice University

  • Mihai Pop

    University of Maryland

  • Brian Yu

    Stanford University

  • Gabriel Birzu

    Stanford University