Cornell University · EngineeringMicrobiome Protein Interactions Lab
Ilana Lauren Brito · Ithaca, New York
Research Focus
Dr. Ilana Lauren Brito's lab at Cornell University focuses on understanding how proteins from human hosts interact with those from the microbiome, which are crucial for health and disease. The research is aimed at discovering new protein-protein interactions (PPIs) between hosts and microbiome organisms, using advanced computational models and experimental techniques. This work can lead to insights into microbiome-related disorders and potentially identify new therapeutic targets.
host-microbiome interactionsprotein-protein interactionscomputational biologymetagenomicstherapeutic discoverymicrobiome researchprotein structure predictionclinical pathwaysdisease mechanisms
Research Aims
5AIM 01Develop and improve the CHIP tool for predicting host-microbiome PPIs.
AIM 02Analyze the host-microbiome interaction network.
AIM 03Utilize structure predictions to infer functions of protein interactions.
AIM 04Identify novel host receptor-bacterial protein ligand interactions through proximity labeling.
AIM 05Validate important host-microbiome interactions related to disease pathways.
Skills the Lab Values
protein-protein interaction analysiscomputational modelingmetagenomic analysisbiological assay techniquesproximity labelingstructure prediction with AlphaFolddata-driven discoveryhigh-throughput screeningbiochemistry methods
Output against the department
Publications197top 49% of dept.135th of 278
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations4.4kbottom 34% of dept.183rd of 278
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.