He is also affiliated with the Maryland Pathogen Research Institute (MPRI). The El-Sayed research group is currently focused on decoding and comparing the genomes of a variety of human pathogens (with the goal of better understanding mechanisms of virulence) and unveiling interactions between pathogen and host proteins. Another ongoing project uses metagenomic approaches to investigate the gut microbial population in children with autism spectrum disease. July 16 Issue of Nature: http://www.nature.com/nature/index.html