Biosketch:
I’m a microbiologist at Clemson University interested in the gut microbiome. I received my PhD at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where I first learned about the importance of beneficial microbes. After a postdoc position at the University of Michigan, I joined Clemson’s Department of Biological Sciences as an Assistant Professor. When I am not thinking about the gut, I like to cook, embroider, and sing karaoke.

Research Summary:
Humans rely on their associated indigenous microbes, collectively termed the microbiota. My lab is focused on the role of the gut microbiota in host health, with an overarching goal of identifying how these bacterial communities could be manipulated for our benefit. We use a combination of sequencing and experimental approaches to understand how gut bacterial species interact with various pathogens, such as Clostridioides difficile or Trichuris muris, to influence host health.

Selected Publications:
Flores C and Seekatz AM. Reduced carbohydrate complexity alters gut microbial structure independent of total carbohydrate intake. bioRxiv, doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.20.677466. (submitted Sep 2025; under review).
Abt MC and Seekatz AM. Advances in Understanding the Pathogenesis of Clostridioides difficile Infection. Infect Dis Clin North Am, 2025; Sep 6:S0891-5520(25)00064-9. PMID: 40915890.

Seekatz AM. Straining to define a healthy microbiome. mSphere, 2025; 10(7):e0079724. PMID: 40643244.
Bhattacharjee D, Millman M, Seesengood M, Martineau LM, and Seekatz AM. Diversity and prevalence of Anaerostipes in the human gut microbiota. bioRxiv, doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.05.01.651700. (accepted in Microbial Genomics, December 2025).

Millard SA, Vendrov KC, Young VB, and Seekatz AM. Host origin of microbiota drives functional recovery and Clostridioides difficile clearance in mice. mBio, 2025; Jun 2:e0110825. PMID: 40454811.
Flores C, Millard S, and Seekatz AM. Bridging Ecology and Microbiomes: Applying Ecological Theories in Host-associated Microbial Ecosystems. Curr Clin Micro Rpt, 2025; 12(9). PMID: 40248762.

Baldassare M, Bhattacharjee D, Coles J, Nelson S, McCollum C, and Seekatz AM. Butyrate enhances Clostridioides difficile sporulation in vitro. J Bacteriol, 2023; 205(9)e0013823. PMID: 37655912.
Bhattacharjee D, Flores C, Woelfel-Monsivais C, and Seekatz AM. Diversity and prevalence of Clostridium innocuum in the human gut microbiota. mSphere, 2023; 8(1):e0056922. PMID: 36541771.

Monaghan TM, Seekatz AM, Markham NO, Yau TO, Hatziapostolou M, Jilani T, Christodoulou N, Toach B, Birli E, Pomenya O, Louie T, Lacy DB, Kim P, Lee C, Kao D, and Polytarchou C. Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Recurrent Clostridioides difficile Infection Associates With Functional Alterations in Circulating microRNAs. Gastroenterology, 2021; S0016-5058(21)00577-1. PMID: 33844988.