University of Arizona · BiologyPetrullo Microbiota Lab
Lauren Petrullo · Tucson, Arizona
Research Focus
Dr. Lauren Petrullo's lab at the University of Arizona studies how stress affects the gut microbiota, the community of microorganisms living in our digestive system. They use free-living red squirrels to explore how stress influences these microbes and their role in the body’s health, particularly the immune system and metabolism. By understanding these interactions, the lab aims to provide insights that could improve human health and lead to better treatments for conditions linked to microbial imbalance.
gut microbiotacommensal microbiotahost stress responsemicrobial dysbiosisimmune systemred squirrelsmetagenomicsmucosal immunitystress-induced changesgut-brain axis
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate the impact of host physiological stress on gut microbiota composition.
AIM 02Identify the molecular mechanisms that mediate microbial responses to host stress.
AIM 03Characterize changes in gut barrier function associated with microbial dysbiosis.
AIM 04Utilize a free-living rodent model to study ecological microbiome dynamics.
AIM 05Integrate findings to inform therapeutic strategies for stress-related health issues.
Skills the Lab Values
amplicon sequencingmetagenomicsmetabolomicsimmunoglobulin sequencingphysiological surveysanimal handlingmicrobial ecologydata analysis in Rbioinformaticsexperimental design
Output against the department
Publications40bottom 8% of dept.954th of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations645bottom 3% of dept.1,004th 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.