Sophia Kottke

I am a PhD student in the Evolutionary Anthropology program at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, affiliated with both the Center for Evolution and Medicine and the Institute of Human Origins. I am co-advised by Dr. Joan Silk and Dr. India Schneider-Crease. My research focuses on the collection of bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria, also called phages) in the gut microbiome, or the phageome. I'm interested in using bioinformatic tools to understand how the phageome assembles during infancy and whether perturbations to normal developmental patterns are associated with long-term health consequences. 

To do this, I take an interdisplinary approach, combining my background in primatology and molecular biology to understand phageome development in a gelada monkey model. Wild non-human primate models provide a unique opportunity to understand how shared evolutionary history may shape the function of certain traits or even systems (like the microbiome!) in natural settings somewhat protected from industrial variables, like antibiotics. Because humans and non-human primates, like geladas, have so much shared ancestry, results are relevant to the broader understanding of primate evolution and also applicable to the advancement of (human) medicine. 

Originally from Austin, Texas, I earned my BS in Biology and Anthropology from Texas State University. During my time there, I spent over two years working in Dr. Hong-Gu Kang's plant immunology lab. In this role, I worked alongside a graduate student mentor to help characterize the activity patterns of a small RNA molecule, known as a tRNA-derived fragment, after pathogen exposure in Arabidopsis thaliana. I also worked with Dr. Jill Pruetz after being awarded an internal undergraduate fellowship. Here, I studied the impact of adult female presence on feeding associated behaviors within subgroups of critically endangered black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) at the Camaquiri Conservation Initiative in Limón, Costa Rica. 

Worms Gone Wild Lab and find us on socials @wildwormslab | Learn more about geladas: Simien Mountains Gelada Research Project | Connect with me on LinkedIn