Sergios-Orestis Kolokotronis

Sergios-Orestis Kolokotronis, PhD is an assistant professor of epidemiology, infectious diseases and cell biology at SUNY Downstate's School of Public Health and College of Medicine, and a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History. He applies evolutionary thinking to questions on the emergence and adaptation of microbial pathogens, their vectors, and reservoir species using genomics and bioinformatics. Organismal systems of interest include the Lyme disease system, RNA viruses, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, MRSA, the microbial ecological context of pathogen transmission and persistence, e.g. microbiomes of ticks and urban birds, and how the urban and industrial environment intensifies natural selection for antibiotic, metal, and pollutant resistance of microbial communities. His interest in ArtBio Matters is grounded on unlocking the research and discovery potential of archival specimens and the windows into the past cultural heritage can open for our understanding of historical interactions with biodiversity and emergence of infectious diseases.