Research

The Hale lab examines the role of the gut and urine microbiome in disease with the goal of understanding how the microbiome shapes disease susceptibility and pathogenesis. We study diseases that affect humans and animals and employ a combination of field work, clinical and population data,  molecular lab work, multi-omic technologies, and bioinformatics to understand how microbial communities interact with hosts and their environments. One of our focus areas is  bladder cancer. Dogs are a robust model for human bladder cancer and, in both species, bladder cancer has been linked to environmental exposures. By studying chemical-microbe-host interactions in humans and in dogs, we can begin understanding what role gut and urine microbes may play in this disease process or in treatment response. Ultimately, we hope that these insights will reveal ways in which we can manipulate the microbiome in order to prevent or treat disease.