The Bakel Lab brings together experimental scientists, clinicians, and computational researchers working at the intersection of genomics, infectious disease, and developmental biology. Our team combines bench-based molecular biology, next-generation sequencing, and clinical microbiology with large-scale bioinformatics, data science, and statistical modeling. Across projects ranging from influenza and SARS-CoV-2 surveillance to hospital-acquired infections and craniofacial development, we integrate laboratory experiments with real-time genomic analysis to understand pathogen evolution, host responses, and mechanisms of disease. This multidisciplinary environment allows us to translate complex biological questions into scalable computational workflows while maintaining strong experimental foundations.