Haolong
Zhu
Haolong Zhu is a joint graduate student in the Ludington and Spradling labs with an affiliation to the CMDB graduate program at Johns Hopkins University. He studies the mechanisms governing microbiome-host interactions including the colonization process and how such interactions can impact host physiology. He capitalizes on the fruit fly model, one of the best genetic animal models, to dissect the underlying biology at both cellular and molecular levels.
Research
The Ludington Lab investigates basic ecological principles in the context of gnotobiotic Drosophila melanogaster microbiomes in order to understand the complicated and often complex relationship between microbiome and host.
The Spradling Lab studies the biology of reproduction, particularly egg cells, which are able to reset the normally irreversible processes of differentiation and aging that govern all somatic cells—those that turn into non-reproductive tissues.