The Dishaw Lab at the University of South Florida is interested in how exogenous factors and secreted immune effectors shape the ecology of gut microbiomes. Our research leverages the invertebrate chordate, Ciona robusta, as a model for studying transkingdom interactions in the gut and how those interactions shape animal immunity (and how immunity shapes the ecology of the gut). We are focused on how these interactions shape animal development, which includes immune maturation. Our work translates into an understanding of the developmental ontogeny of human microbiomes by focusing on very low birth weight premature infants.