Karen Guillemin

Karen Guillemin is Professor of Biology at the University of Oregon’s College of Arts and Sciences and a full member of the university’s Institute of Molecular Biology. Her laboratory investigates how resident microbial communities influence animal development and disease using gnotobiotic zebrafish and fruit-fly models.

Education

• A.B., Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges
• Ph.D., Stanford University

Research Interests

The Guillemin group explores the reciprocal dialogue between hosts and microbiota, focusing on three major themes: (1) Microbial impacts on intestinal development, where resident bacteria drive epithelial maturation and innate immune recruitment; (2) Bacterial colonization strategies, dissecting chemotaxis and adhesion mechanisms of Helicobacter pylori and other symbionts; and (3) Assembly principles of host-associated microbial communities, integrating natural surveys with controlled gnotobiotic experiments to understand how host, environmental, and stochastic factors shape microbiome composition across development.

Recent Publication Landscape

Between 2022 and 2025 the lab’s output spans microbiota-driven beta-cell expansion, bacterial modulation of intestinal motility via macrophage redistribution, fungal influences on lifelong metabolic health, and single-cell atlases of host transcriptional responses to microbes. Collectively these works illuminate molecular dialogues governing host–microbe mutualism, pathogenesis, and therapeutic intervention.

Scientific Awards

No specific awards are listed in the provided materials.

Laboratory & Resources

The Guillemin Lab is housed in Klamath Hall at the University of Oregon and maintains state-of-the-art gnotobiotic zebrafish facilities, advanced imaging suites, and molecular biology resources that enable mechanistic dissection of host–microbe interactions at scales ranging from single molecules to whole organisms.