Do. Teach. Learn.

I am the product of an artist and an engineer. I want to figure out how the world works, and then draw a picture of it. I enjoy the "detective work" that comes with a new idea or set of data. First I find patterns and test my predictions – Which samples cluster? Where do I see more variation or consistency? Are there any visible patterns at all? – to identify the processes that underlie those patterns, and ultimately to see how each piece fits together in the context of the system and the published literature. After I've puzzled out the story for myself, I make sure others understand it, too. That flash (or slow catching) of recognition, as the thought-shape begins to crystallize... that's an absolute high for me.

Recent publications and CV

Greene, L.K., McKenney, E.A., O’Connell, T.M., Drea C.M. 2018. Let them eat leaves: the critical role of dietary foliage in maintaining the gut microbiome and metabolome of folivorous sifakas. Scientific Reports 8:14482. [PDF]

Greene, L.K., McKenney, E.A. The inside tract: the appendicular, cecal, and colonic microbiome of captive aye-ayes. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23481. [PDF]

McKenney, E.A., Koelle, K., Dunn, R.R., Yoder, A.D. (2018). The ecosystem services of animal microbiomes. Molecular Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/mec.14532. [PDF]

McKenney, E. A., O'Connell, T. M., Rodrigo, A., & Yoder, A. D. (2017). Feeding strategy shapes gut metagenomic enrichment and functional specialization in captive lemurs. Gut microbes. DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2017.1408762. [PDF] >> press release <<

McKenney, E. A., Maslanka, M., Rodrigo, A., & Yoder, A. D. (2017). Bamboo Specialists from Two Mammalian Orders (Primates, Carnivora) Share a High Number of Low-Abundance Gut Microbes. Microbial ecology, 1-13. Doi: 10.1007/s00248-017-1114-8 [PDF] >> press release <<

Villeneuve, C., Kou, H. H., Eckermann, H., Palkar, A., Anderson, L. G., McKenney, E. A., ... & Parker, W. (2017). Evolution of the hygiene hypothesis into biota alteration theory: What are the paradigms and where are the clinical applications?. Microbes and infection. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micinf.2017.11.001. [PDF]

McKenney, E. A., Greene, L. K., Drea, C. M., & Yoder, A. D. (2017). Down for the count: Cryptosporidium infection depletes the gut microbiome in Coquerel’s sifakas. Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease, 28(1), 1335165. [PDF] >> press release <<

McKenney, E., Flythe, T., Millis, C., Stalls, J., Urban, J. M., Dunn, R. R., & Stevens, J. L. (2016). Symbiosis in the Soil: Citizen Microbiology in Middle and High School Classrooms. Journal of microbiology & biology education, 17(1), 60. [PDF]

Williamson, L. L., McKenney, E. A., Holzknecht, Z. E., Belliveau, C., Rawls, J. F., Poulton, S., ... & Bilbo, S. D. (2016). Got worms? Perinatal exposure to helminths prevents persistent immune sensitization and cognitive dysfunction induced by early-life infection. Brain, behavior, and immunity, 51, 14-28. [PDF]

McKenney, E. A., Rodrigo, A., & Yoder, A. D. (2015). Patterns of gut bacterial colonization in three primate species. PloS one, 10(5), e0124618. [PDF]

McKenney, E. A., Williamson, L., Yoder, A. D., Rawls, J. F., Bilbo, S. D., & Parker, W. (2015). Alteration of the rat cecal microbiome during colonization with the helminth Hymenolepis diminuta. Gut microbes, 6(3), 182-193. [PDF}

McKenney, E. A., Ashwell, M., Lambert, J. E., & Fellner, V. (2014). Fecal microbial diversity and putative function in captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), Hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas) and binturongs (Arctictis binturong). Integrative zoology, 9(5), 557-569. [PDF]