Wolbachia is a bacterial endosymbiont present in over half the insect species on the planet and in a number of nematode species.  The success of Wolbachia is largely due to its efficient maternal transmission and extraordinary ability to manipulate host reproduction and behavior. Wolbachia has enjoyed much coverage in the press because Wolbachia-infected mosquitos suppress Dengue and Zika viral replication.  Thus Wolbachia is currently being used as a biological method of pest control.  In addition, Wolbachia was identified as an essential endosymbiont of filarial nematodes and the causal agent of the nematode-based diseases River-blindness and Elephantiasis.   A longstanding focus of my lab has been to define the underlying molecular and cellular interactions between Wolbachia and its insect and filarial nematode hosts.  We have also developed high throughput small-molecule screens to identify potent new anti-Wolbachia compounds to combat filarial nematode based diseases.