Research Interests
Arabidopsis, Host-Pathogen interactions, Microbiome, Pseudomonas
Research Focus Teams
TBA
Departments
Contact
Email: cara.haney@ubc.ca
Office Phone: 604–827–5100
Publications
Lab Website
Dr. Cara Haney is an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Molecular mechanisms in host-microbiome interactions in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Prior to joining the UBC faculty in 2016, she was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School. Her lab uses high throughput screening combined with genetic and genomic approaches to identify the genetic basis of beneficial traits in plant-microbiome interactions. Her research focuses on elucidating basic mechanisms in host-microbiome interactions, and in finding sustainable solutions for agronomically important challenges in the face of a changing climate.
Canada Research Chair in Molecular mechanisms in host-microbiome interactions
Cystic Fibrosis Canada Early Career Investigator
Plants roots are surrounded by communities of microbes (i.e. the “rhizosphere microbiome”); these microbes influence plant growth, development, and disease resistance. Using the model plant Arabidopsis and its associated bacteria, such as Pseudomonas fluorescens, our lab studies the genetic and environmental factors that regulate plant-microbiome associations.
1. Uncovering how microbes, including Pseudomonas fluorescens, can colonize a host despite the presence of an intact immune system.
2. Identifying plant genes that shape microbiome community.
3. Identifying bacterial and plant genes that affect the functional outputs of the microbiome.
4. Identifying conserved mechanisms across Pseudomonas species that are required for association with diverse hosts.