Theo Gibbs
Theo Gibbs
Schmidt Science Fellow and Postdoctoral Researcher, New York University
Adviser: Joy Bergelson
Building a high-throughput experimental platform to study diverse coexistence of microbial
communities in the plant phyllosphere
PhD in Quantitative and Computational Biology, Princeton University
Advisers: Jonathan Levine and Simon Levin
Thesis: Higher-order interactions and species coexistence in diverse ecological communities
MA in Quantitative and Computational Biology, Princeton University
Advisers: Jonathan Levine and Simon Levin
BS in Mathematics with Honors, University of Chicago
Adviser: Stefano Allesina
Adler, P., Detto, M., Ellner, S., Gibbs, T., Gold, Z., Leonard, S., Levine, J., Schiffer, A., Song, C., Stemkovski, M., Vahsen, M. & Levine, J. What have we learned from empirical applications of modern coexistence theory? Ecology Letters (2026).
Gibbs, T., Dahlin, K., Brennan, J., Silveira, C.*, McManus, L.* Coexistence of bacteria with a competition-colonization tradeoff on a dynamic coral host. Theoretical Ecology (2026). (* denotes equal contribution).
Märkle, H., Gibbs, T. & Bergelson, J. Evolutionary implications of plant host interactions with a generalist pathogen.Proceedings of the Royal Society B (2026).
Gibbs, T.*, Gold, Z.*, Oyler, H., Levine, J.† & Kraft, N.† Spatial clustering modifies competition in a diverse annual plant community. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2026). (* and † denote equal contribution). Won theRobert P. McIntosh Award for the Best Paper in Vegetation Ecology and Honorable Mention for the Postdoctoral Excellence Award in Plant Population Ecology.
Gibbs, T., Gellner, G., Levin, S., McCann, K., Hastings, A. & Levine, J. When can higher-order interactions produce stable coexistence? Ecology Letters (2024).
Gibbs, T., Levin, S. & Levine, J. Coexistence in diverse communities with higher-order interactions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). Honorable Mention for the Outstanding Ecological Theory Paper Award from the Theory Section of the Ecological Society of America.