Jessica Mark Welch studies the spatial organization of microbial communities using spectral imaging microscopy and genomic techniques. Jessica earned her Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University in 2001, carried out post-doctoral research at MBL with Matthew Meselson, and then joined the group of Gary Borisy as part of the team that developed CLASI-FISH, a Combinatorial Labeling and Spectral Imaging – Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization technique for analysis of spatial structure in complex microbial communities. She has applied CLASI-FISH to discover highly organized bacterial consortia in human dental plaque and to investigate the spatial organization of gut microbial communities. She is interested in investigating common themes in the spatial organization of marine, coastal, and human microbiomes.
Jessica Mark Welch
Associate Scientist
Marine Biological Laboratory
