Tal Korem, PhD, is an assistant professor of systems biology and member of Columbia's Program for Mathematical Genomics (PMG). Dr. Korem, who joined the department in 2018, directs the Korem Lab, which conducts research aimed at facilitating the downstream development of microbiome-based therapeutics. They use machine learning, network inference and metabolic modelling to obtain a mechanistic understanding of host-microbiome interactions in clinically relevant settings. While the recognition of the microbiome’s importance in human health and disease is constantly growing, and multiple aberrant microbial states have been characterized, they remain poorly understood. In most cases we still do not know what drives, sustains, or modulates these states - let alone how to reverse them. Working at the intersection between computational biology and medicine, the Korem Lab both develops algorithms and computational methods that aim to understand microbial growth, activity, and metabolic production, as well as apply these methodologies as the basis for clinical inquiries in diverse settings, with a special focus on reproductive sciences. Dr. Korem also is a faculty member of Columbia's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.