Colleen M. Cavanaugh

Dr. Colleen M. Cavanaugh is the Edward C. Jeffrey Professor of Biology at Harvard University's Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. She co-founded the Microbial Sciences Initiative and currently leads the Cavanaugh Lab. Her research focuses on microbial symbiosis and evolution, particularly bacteria-animal associations, spanning marine systems and animal/human microbiomes.

• Affiliation: Harvard University
• Department: Organismic and Evolutionary Biology

Her work explores symbiotic relationships through ecological and evolutionary frameworks, with contributions to marine symbioses (e.g., hydrothermal vent tubeworms) and microbiome studies in Darwin’s finches and human oral systems. Recent research trends highlight genome-centric dynamics, metapangenomics, and host-microbe coevolution.

• Courses Taught: Biology of Symbiosis, Topics in Symbiosis, Microbial Ecology
• Lab Focus: Characterizing metabolic/genetic capabilities of symbionts, host-symbiont interactions