Welcome to the Lazzaro Lab at Cornell University! Our work is focused on the evolutionary genetics of insect-pathogen interactions. Our projects include population genomic and molecular evolutionary analysis of insect immune systems and quantitative genetic study of differences in immune performance among individuals in a population. We seek to identify the genes responsible for individual differences in resistance or susceptibility to infection and environmental factors that influence defense. We are determining how genotype and environment interact to shape defense traits, and how seemingly distinct physiological processes are genetically linked and may constrain each other. We are especially interested in the effects of dietary nutrition and metabolism, gut microbiological communities, and reproductive status on immune performance. We use molecular tools and genomic analysis in our research. Read more at our Research page.