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Elizabeth Heath-Heckman is a microbiologist and invertebrate biologist specializing in the mechanisms underlying host-microbe interactions. She conducts research on the pathogenesis of Staphylococcus aureus and the relationships between Hawaiian Bobtail squid and the luminescent bacterial symbiont, Vibrio fischeri. Elizabeth spent her undergraduate years at the University of Chicago, earning a B.A. in 2007. She completed her Ph.D. in 2014 at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, where she focused on how day/night cycles affect associations with Vibrio fischeri. Following her doctoral studies, she held postdoctoral positions at the University of California, Berkeley (2014-2017), and the University of California, Los Angeles (2018-2020), where she studied neurodevelopment in leeches, including Helobdella austinensis and Hirudo verbana, employing advanced genomic techniques. In July 2020, she established her lab at Michigan State University, where she continues to examine host-microbe interactions in the development of spiralia.
Department of Psychology