About

Traditional strategies for conserving endangered species rely mainly on restoring populations through breeding programs and habitat protection. However, as we learn more about the roles of microbes in mediating their host organisms’ health and disease, there appears to be great promise in exploring the impact of the microbiome in conservation of endangered species. Claire Williams’s goal is to integrate microbiome research and conservation research, studying animals as meta-organisms with complex communities of microbes. Claire began her research career in the lab of Professor Slava Epstein, where she established a microbial culture collection from Arctic soil and began to comprehend the role of microbes in large ecosystems. Supported by an Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor Award, her next project involved collaborating with colleagues from engineering, physics, and biology to develop a novel microbial cultivation device. Research conducted in Dublin, Ireland, shifted Claire’s interests toward environmental sustainability, and her current project, at Harvard’s Rowland Institute, involves studying the microbiome of threatened honey bees. She plans to pursue a PhD in microbiology and conservation and devote her career to restoring and maintaining our planet’s biodiversity.