Frequently Asked Questions

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The Arnold Lab is a research lab focused on development of One-Health approaches to unravel how the microbiome contributes to host health and disease. We are currently located at the Department of Biomedical Sciences in the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University.

Our research mission is to extend the human healthspan, improve animal well-being, and to augment global food security through 'reverse engineering' host associated microbiomes.

Our teaching mission is to allow the student to select and plan a body of original research that can be completed within a reasonable timeframe as well as support trainees career development goals. 

We believe that diversity is essential for great ideas to happen. 

We believe that diversity is a foundation for great science to happen. We value diverse people in our laboratory, and have prior expectation that each member will have high integrity and respect for others as well as for themselves. 

We welcome diverse groups and do not discriminate based on age, ability, experience, and identities such as race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic status, and more.  

Our lab adheres to AJEDI principles:

• Antiracism: We acknowledge that scientific culture and higher education is inherently biased in history, application, and in actualization. We must explicitly oppose racism in our research and in our work, with our words, and by our actions. We must continue to learn about and understand our own bias in order to tear down and confront harmful racist statements or actions by others. 
• Justice and Equity: We acknowledge that not everyone has had an equal chance at access to resources in science, education, mentoring, and in career advancement. We believe that everyone deserves an equal shot, and that all should be treated fairly. 
• Diversity: Everyone brings a unique viewpoint to the table. In our lab, we believe that diverse viewpoints and diverse backgrounds make us stronger. 
• Inclusion: We all belong here, and we strive to create a lab culture which embodies a safe, welcoming environment for all. 

The Arnold Lab specializes linking microbial features to ecosystem covariates. We hypothesize that the microbiome can be 'reverse engineered' to improve health and halt progression of many chronic diseases. In particular, we employ traditional as well as well as ecophylogenetic approaches to link the microbiome to host covariates. Special interests include how the microbiome can be utilized to enhance cognition and athletic performance.

In order to achieve our goals, we are developing a set of tools to understand how the microbiome interacts with health by using next generation sequencing technologies, single cell sequencing of host tissues, along with integration of measured human health metrics using  smart health trackers.