John McCutcheon

John McCutcheon is a Professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University, serving as Associate Director of the Biodesign Center for Mechanisms of Evolution. His research focuses on evolutionary cell biology, symbiosis, and the transition from endosymbiont to organelle, utilizing insect-bacterial systems to study genomic reduction and host-microbe coevolution.

His work investigates fundamental questions in evolutionary biology, including endosymbiont genome degradation, metabolic interdependence, and the cellular mechanisms enabling long-term bacterial infections in hosts. Research integrates genetics, biochemistry, and cell biology to explore parallels between bacterial symbionts and organelles.

McCutcheon's recent publications emphasize insect symbiosis, genome evolution, and transcriptomic adaptations, consistently highlighting themes of host-symbiont co-dependence across taxa.

Awards & Honors:

• Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator (2022-Present)

He leads the McCutcheon Lab, advancing understanding of endosymbiotic relationships through interdisciplinary approaches at ASU's Biodesign Institute.