Brian Lazzaro

Brian Lazzaro is a Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University's College of Arts and Sciences since 2003. He actively contributes to research and education, teaching courses like BioEE 4800 Ecological Genetics and BioEE 1780 Evolution and Diversity.

• Education:
  • Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University (2002)
  • B.S., University of California, Davis (1995)

Research Interests: His work investigates the evolutionary genetics of insect-pathogen interactions, focusing on genetic and environmental determinants of infection outcomes. He studies how host physiology, immune systems, and microbial behavior interact within the abiotic environment to shape disease transmission and control. Research extends to life history constraints on immunity and how host-pathogen-environment systems co-evolve.

Scientific Trends: Recent publications highlight trade-offs between immunity and reproduction in Drosophila, metabolic costs of chronic infections, and the role of microbiota in host-pathogen dynamics. His group employs Drosophila melanogaster as a model system for genetic, genomic, and immunological analysis of host-pathogen interactions.

Labs & Teams: The Lazzaro Lab at Cornell explores these questions through interdisciplinary approaches, integrating evolutionary biology, immunology, and functional genomics. They maintain affiliations with the Cornell Institute for Host-Microbe Interactions and Disease (CIHMID), which he directs.