Dr. Zaid Abdo is a professor at the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University. He graduated with a B.Sc. from University of Jordan Amman in 1992. He earned his M.Sc. and Ph.D. from University of Idaho, Moscow, in 2000 and 2005, respectively. One of his main research objectives is to understand the microbial community structure, its interactions and function, and how this microbial community interacts with and affects its host and affects and is affected by its surrounding environment. Another major objective of his research is to study the mechanisms of acquiring, transmitting, and maintaining antibiotic resistance in bacteria and study the mechanisms of adaptation of different microbes within their natural environment. His lab also focuses on developing and utilizing computational and statistical methods and models aimed to facilitate our understanding of these systems.