Caverly Lab

Our lab studies the role of lung microbiota in the pathophysiology of cystic fibrosis (CF) respiratory disease. We have extensive airway biorepositories and clinical databases and use culture-independent technologies, including bacterial 16S rRNA sequencing and metabolomics, to profile the dynamics of microbial communities from these specimens. Our long-term goal is to develop novel infection prevention and treatment approaches for people with CF and other lung diseases. We also run the Burkholderia cepacia Laboratory and Repository (BcLR), a CF Foundation-funded national reference laboratory that supports CF care centers through Burkholderia identification and genotyping. The BcLR maintains an extensive culture collection of >50,000 isolates, including Burkholderia, Pseudomonas, and other non-fermenting gram-negative species, to support research on opportunistic bacterial infection in CF and other lung diseases.