David Coil is a Project Scientist in the lab of Jonathan Eisen at the University of California, Davis. He received his undergraduate degree in Biology from Carleton College and his PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Washington, Seattle. His graduate work focused on designing retroviral vectors for human gene therapy. David then did a postdoc at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, studying the pathogenesis and motility of the Legionella bacteria. Since 2011 he has worked in Dr. Eisen's lab studying microbial ecology and bacterial genomics. Much of the focus is on the microbiome of various hosts and environmental and natural systems. This has included hummingbirds, cats, dogs, seagrass, humans, walnut, wastewater, tomato, sand, and the built environment.
In addition to his focus on research, David has a passion for education and outreach and has participated in a number of citizen science projects, including sending bacteria to the International Space Station and designed a microbiology board game called "Gut Check: The Microbiome Game".
