Benjamin Callahan, PhD

Research Summary

Benjamin Callahan studies microbiomes — the complex microbial communities which inhabit and interact with almost every part of the world around us. He has developed new computational methods to more accurately, precisely and reproducibly characterize complex microbial communities, especially with the use of metagenomic sequencing methods. Dr. Callahan uses these new methods to study the microbial contribution to a variety of important problems including the pathophysiology of preterm birth, the development of antimicrobial resistance after antibiotic administration, and the prevalence and epidemiology of C. difficile. He is also generally interested in adaptation within microbial populations, which he has studied with a mix of analytics, simulation and experimental evolution.

Relevance of Research to CGIBD Mission:

Dr. Callahan develops new methods that make characterization and analysis of the gastrointestinal microbiota more precise, accurate and reproducible. Dr. Callahan maintains and supports widely used software that is used to investigate the gut microbiome. Dr. Callahan collaborates with other investigators to study various GI related health issues, including C. difficile, FMT treatment, and GI-associated epilepsy.

CGIBD Focus Area(s):  Microbiome

Collaborators: Casey Theriot, Ajay Gulati