The "Symbiomics Lab" alludes to its main scope: the use of genomics in understanding the symbiotic relationship between the dinoflagellate Symbiodinium and several cnidarian hosts. The lab, which is affiliated with the Red Sea Research Center in KAUST, was established in 2013.
Members of the lab have been heavily involved in the genome projects of Symbiodiniummicroadriaticum, Stylophora pistillata and Aiptasia pallida. The availability of the genomes paved the way for the use of -omics techniques on these organisms, greatly easing the investigation of key genes of symbiosis, as well as the role of epigenetics in adapting to climate change.