Abstract: The complexity and diversity of marine microbial communities present many challenges in experimentally and computationally analyzing metagenomics samples. Recent advances have enabled the characterization of microbiomes and the functionality of microbial communities in their environments. Our overall aim is to develop benchmarks for the functional characterization of microbial communities, from sample collection to sequencing data analysis. Our experimental work involves collecting raw sea water samples from the Red Sea and recording their metadata. DNA, RNA and metabolites are extracted from the samples using novel extraction methods. After characterizing a marine microbial community and obtaining high-quality multi-omics data, we aim to develop computational methods to explore the functional characteristics of microbial communities. This functional metagenomics research will explore how microbial communities directly interact with hosts and the environment around them. This will be done by integrating methods for protein function prediction, predicting physical interactions between proteins, predicting metabolic pathways and interactions between microbes and the environment.

Bio: After completing my BSc in biology, psychology and neuroscience at UMass Amherst, I completed my MSc thesis on cholinergic neurotransmission in Hydra under the supervision of Prof. Takashi Gojobori. I'm currently pursuing my PhD at KAUST under the supervision of Prof. Robert Hoehndorf. My research interests include bioinformatics and using computational methods for data analysis in biology. I am interested in working on biological questions that require multi-omics data integration.