1) Identifying the drivers of microbial population dynamics during the lifespan of the host. 2) Understanding the impact of microbial dynamics on whole-animal physiology during aging. 3) Characterising microbial contributions to the maintenance, or decline, of gastrointestinal function in aged animals.

Clark, R. I., Salazar, A., Yamada, R., Fitz-Gibbon, S., Morselli, M., Alcaraz, J., Rana, A., Rera, M., Pellegrini, M., Ja, W. W. & Walker, D. W. (2015). Distinct shifts in microbiota composition during Drosophila aging impair intestinal function and drive mortality. Cell Reports 12(10): 1656-1667. Clark, R.I., Walker, D.W. & Dionne, M.S. (2014). Metabolic and immune integration in aging and age-related disease. Aging 6(1): 3-4. Clark, R.I., Tan, S.W., Pean, C.B., Roostalu, U., Vivancos, V., Bronda, K., Pilatova, M., Fu, J., Walker, D.W., Berdeaux, R., Geissmann, F. & Dionne, M.S. (2013). MEF2 is an in vivo immune-metabolic switch. Cell 155(2): 435-447. Rera, M., Clark, R.I. & Walker, D.W. (2013). Why do old flies die? Aging 5(8): 586-587. Rera, M., Clark, R.I. & Walker, D.W. (2012). Intestinal barrier dysfunction links metabolic and inflammatory markers of aging to death in Drosophila. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109(52): 21528-21533. Clark, R.I., Woodcock, K.J., Geissmann, F., Trouillet, C. & Dionne, M.S. (2011). Multiple TGF-β superfamily signals modulate the adult Drosophila immune response. Current Biology 21(19): 1672-1677.