Research

Broadly, my PhD and postdoc work addressed questions relating to the origin, evolution, and diversity of life on Earth.
During my PhD research at Georgia Tech (2011-2017), I explored questions related to the chemical origins of life, specifically how biopolymers evolved from simple chemicals present on the early Earth. My thesis focused on a mechanism for genetic information transfer (RNA-directed RNA polymerization) prior to the evolution of cellular life.
During my time as a postdoctoral scientist at the University of California, Berkeley (2017-2020). I use genome-resolved metagenomics to understand how microbes interact with each other within complex microbial communities. I was particularly focused on understanding symbioses within the ubiquitous but uncultivated Candidate Phyla Radiation bacteria.

Selected Publications

1) A. L. Jaffe, C. He, R. Keren, L. E. Valentin-Alvarado, P. Munk, K. Bouma-Gregson, I. F. Farag, Y. Amano, R. Sachdeva, P. T. West, J. Banfield. "Patterns of gene content and co-occurrence constrain the evolutionary path toward animal association in CPR bacteria." Submitted.

2) C. He, R. Keren, M. Whittaker, I. Farag, J. Doudna, J. Cate, J. Banfield. "Genome-resolved metagenomics reveals site-specific diversity of episymbiotic CPR bacteria and DPANN archaea in groundwater ecosystems." Nature Microbiology (2021).

3) B. Rubin*, B. Cress*, S. Diamond*, A. Crits-Christoph, C. He, M. Xu, Z. Zhou, D. Smock, K. Tang, T. Owens, N. Krishnappa, R. Sachdeva, A. Deutschbauer, J. Banfield, D. Doudna. "Targeted Genome Editing of Bacteria Within Microbial Communities." Submitted.

4) B. Al-Shayeb*, R. Sachdeva*, L.X. Chen, F. Ward, P. Munk, A. Devoto, C.J. Castelle, M.R. Olm, K. Bouma-Gregson, Y. Amano, C. He, R. Méheust, B. Brooks, A. Thomas, A. Lavy, P. Matheus-Carnevali, C. Sun, D. Goltsman, M.A. Borton, T.C. Nelson, R. Kantor, A.L. Jaffe, R. Keren, I.F. Farag, S. Lei, K. Finstad, R. Amundson, K. Anantharaman, J. Zhou, A.J. Probst, M.E. Power, S.G. Tringe, W.J. Li, K. Wrighton, S. Harrison, M. Morowitz, D.A. Relman, J.A. Doudna, A.C. Lehours, L. Warren, J.H.D. Cate, J.M. Santini, J.F. Banfield. "Clades of huge phage from across Earth's ecosystems." Nature (2020).

5) C. He*, A. Lozoya-Colinas*, I. Gállego, M. Grover, N. Hud. "Solvent viscosity facilitates replication and ribozyme catalysis from an RNA duplex in a model prebiotic process." Nucleic Acids Research (2019).

6) C. He*, I. Gallego*, B. Laughlin, M. Grover, N. Hud. "A viscous solvent enables information transfer from gene-length nucleic acids in a model prebiotic replication cycle." Nature Chemistry (2017).

Awards & Honors

Camille & Henry Dreyfus Environmental Chemistry Postdoctoral Fellowship (2018-2020)
Chih Foundation Research Award (2017)
F.L. Bud Suddath Award (outstanding graduate student researcher) (2017)
Pacifichem Conference - Student Poster Competition Winner (2015)
Georgia Tech CRIDC Conference - Best Poster (2015)
Center for Chemical Evolution - Excellence in Outreach Travel Grant (2013)
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2012-2015)
Georgia Tech President's Fellowship (2011-2015)
U. of Maryland Banneker/Key Scholarship (full cost of education coverage) (2007-2011)
Maryland Distinguished Scholarship (2007-2011)
National Merit Scholarship (declined) (2007)