Bacteriophages, the most abundant life form on Earth, engage in a dynamic "arms race" with their bacterial hosts. In recent years, dozens of novel bacterial antiviral immune systems have been discovered, and we are studying their activation principles, mechanisms of action, and viral counter-defense strategies. Our research integrates comparative genomics, microbiology, biochemistry, and structural biology to explore these systems. In addition, bacteriophages are being harnessed as potential therapeutics against pathogenic bacteria. We isolate novel phage species and analyze the factors determining their success in infecting bacterial cells.

The Laboratory of Metagenome Analysis was established at Skoltech in 2022 as part of the Atlas of Microbial Communities of the Russian Federation initiative. Its primary goal is to explore microbial diversity in understudied natural environments, with a focus on the Arctic Ocean ecosystem. In collaboration with the Marine Research Center of Moscow State University, we collected ~10,000 samples and analyzed microbial community composition, yielding 200 complete metagenomes. This unprecedented genomic dataset provides a foundation for discovering novel enzymes, CRISPR-Cas gene editors, and biosynthetic gene clusters with potential biotechnological and medical applications.