Lisa Zeigler Allen, PhD

Assistant Professor

Bio

Dr. Lisa Zeigler Allen is an Assistant Professor in the Microbial and Environmental Genomics Department at JCVI. Her research is directed towards understanding microbial and viral interactions through large-scale metagenomic, single cell/virion genomic and cultivation based approaches. She led the experimental design and implementation of the first single virion isolation and genomic characterization and is currently using these techniques to evaluate samples from the natural environment. Through community level analyses of microbial and virioplankton consortia and culture-based virus/host dynamics, in particular eukaryotic phytoplankton host/virus, she is investigating the influence of viruses on host function, ecosystem performance, community-level diversity and the evolution of hosts.

Prior to becoming an Assistant Professor at JCVI, Lisa received her Ph.D. in Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography where she studied marine natural products and microbial and viral ecology using genome-enabled approaches. She received her Bachelors of Science degree in Biological Sciences at Washington State University and conducted undergraduate research on plant genetics in the lab of Diter von Wettstein.

Select Publications

Zeigler Allen L, Allen EE, Badger JH, McCrow JP, Paulsen IT, Elbourne LD, Thiagarajan M, Rusch DB, Nealson KH, Williamson SJ, Venter JC, Allen AE

Influence of nutrients and currents on the genomic composition of microbes across an upwelling mosaic.

The ISME journal. 2012-07-01; 6.7: 1403-14.

PMID: 22278668

McLean JS, Fansler SJ, Majors PD, McAteer K, Allen LZ, Shirtliff ME, Lux R, Shi W

Identifying low pH active and lactate-utilizing taxa within oral microbiome communities from healthy children using stable isotope probing techniques.

PloS one. 2012-01-01; 7.3: e32219.

PMID: 22403637

Williamson SJ, Allen LZ, Lorenzi HA, Fadrosh DW, Brami D, Thiagarajan M, McCrow JP, Tovchigrechko A, Yooseph S, Venter JC

Metagenomic exploration of viruses throughout the Indian Ocean.

PloS one. 2012-01-01; 7.3: e42047.

PMID: 23082107

Allen LZ, Ishoey T, Novotny MA, McLean JS, Lasken RS, Williamson SJ

Single virus genomics: a new tool for virus discovery.

PloS one. 2011-03-23; 6.3: e17722.

PMID: 21436882

Eloe EA, Fadrosh DW, Novotny M, Zeigler Allen L, Kim M, Lombardo MJ, Yee-Greenbaum J, Yooseph S, Allen EE, Lasken R, Williamson SJ, Bartlett DH

Going deeper: metagenome of a hadopelagic microbial community.