The mission of the META Center for Systems Biology is to pioneer the field of host-microbe systems biology. We meld the theoretical rigor of community ecology and population biology with the experimental elegance of our gnotobiotic fish models and exploit innovations in sequencing technology and imaging to investigate the membership and dynamics of host-associated microbial communities and corresponding host responses. We are innovating applications of sampling theory, spatial biodiversity theory, and probabilistic models to reveal system-level properties underlying host-microbe assembly, dynamics, and evolution.

As a National Center for Systems Biology, supported by the National Institute for General Medical Sciences we are committed to training the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists who will shape the future of systems biology. To ensure that this next generation includes individuals from diverse backgrounds, we have partnered with the University of Alaska to build pipelines for Native American and Alaska Native students to participate in META Center training and research through our AORTA program.