J. Delgado Vela
Duke University,
United States
Keywords: biofilms, quorum sensing, phage therapy
Summary:
Amidst growing challenges such as urban densification, climate change, aging infrastructure, and pandemics, engineers must develop an equitable, environmentally sustainable, and resilient urban water cycle. I will discuss our ongoing research trying to understand microbial signaling, both between bacterial populations and between bacteria and the viruses that infect bacteria (phage). Our ultimate goal is to control who grows in a biofilm or prevent biofilm formation. By integrating modeling and experimental approaches across multiple scales, I uncover unique insights into microbial processes in our urban water system.