Tory Hendry

Tory Hendry is an evolutionary biologist and microbiologist who studies how host interactions shape the evolution and ecology of bacteria. Tory earned a B.A. in Biology from Williams College and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She held postdoctoral appointments at the University of Arizona and as a USDA NIFA Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley before joining the faculty at Cornell University.

Research Focus

The Hendry lab studies host-microbe interactions at the intersection of evolution, ecology and microbiology. We combine genomics and ecological experiments to study host-microbe interactions in a variety of systems, including interactions of plants, insects and bacteria, insect-microbe symbioses, and insect pathogens. Work in the lab aims to integrate data from genomes and experiments to determine how complex host interactions shape bacterial evolution and ecology, and how these interactions feedback to impact hosts.

Mentoring Focus

Tory organizes two undergraduate research programs at Cornell, providing research experience and mentoring for undergraduates interested in research careers. These are the Cornell Institute for Host-Microbe Interactions and Disease Undergraduate Research Experience program for Cornell students and the NSF Microbial Friends and Foes REU program for students outside Cornell. Both programs aim to expand diversity and inclusion in science by preparing undergraduate students for graduate research and careers in science.

Areas Of Expertise

• Ecology
• Evolution
• Genomics
• Insect Microbiomes
• Luminous Bacteria
• Microbial-Host Interactions
• Pathogens
• Symbiosis

Graduate Fields

• Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
• Entomology
• Microbiology

Selected Publications

Journal Publications

• Smee, M.R., and T.A. Hendry. (2022) Context-dependent benefits of aphids for bacteria in the phyllosphere. The American Naturalist, 199 https://doi.org/10.1086/718264.
• Smee, M.R., I. Real-Ramirez, C. Zuluaga Arias, and T.A. Hendry. (2021) Epiphytic strains of Pseudomonas syringae kill diverse aphid species. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 87: e00017-21 https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00017-21
• Alvarez-Perez, S., L.J. Baker, M.M. Morris, K. Tsuji, V.A. Sanchez, T. Fukami, R.L. Vannette, B. Lievens, and T.A. Hendry. (2021) Acinetobacter pollinis sp. nov., Acinetobacter baretiae sp. nov. and Acinetobacter rathckeae sp. nov., isolated from floral nectar and honey bees. IJSEM, 71 https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.004783
• Baker, L.J., L.L. Freed, C.G. Easson, J.V. Lopez, D. Fenolio, T.T. Sutton, S.V. Nyholm, and T.A. Hendry. (2019) Diverse deep-sea anglerfishes share a genetically reduced luminous symbiont that is acquired from the environment. eLife, 8:e47606 https://elifesciences.org/articles/47606
• Hendry, T. A., Ligon, R. A., Besler, K. R., Fay, R. L., & Smee, M. R. (2018). Visual detection and avoidance of pathogenic bacteria by aphids. Current Biology. 28:3158–3164.
• Hendry, T. A., Freed, L. L., Fader, D., Fenolio, D., Sutton, T. T., & Lopez, J. V. (2018). Ongoing transposon-mediated genome reduction in the luminous bacterial symbionts of deep-sea ceratioid anglerfishes. mBio. 9:e01033-18.
• Smee, M. R., Baltrus, D. A., & Hendry, T. (2017). Entomopathogenicity to two hemipteran insects is common but variable across epiphytic Pseudomonas syringae strains. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8:2149
• Hendry, T., de Wet, J. R., Dougan, K. E., & Dunlap, P. V. (2016). Genome evolution in the obligate but environmentally active luminous symbionts of flashlight fish. GBE: Genome Biology and Evolution. 8:2203-2213.
• Hendry, T., Clark, K. J., & Baltrus, D. A. (2016). A highly infective plant-associated bacterium influences reproductive rates in pea aphids. Royal Society Open Science.