Lipids are indispensable components of cells, playing a crucial role in providing structural integrity as well as acting as key signaling molecules. Viral and bacterial pathogens frequently exploit cellular lipid metabolism pathways to establish infections and evade the immune system. Understanding how host lipids are manipulated by pathogens during the course of infection is pivotal for devising effective strategies for developing treatments against infectious diseases. At the Tafesse lab, our research is concentrated on probing the interactions between pathogens and the host lipidome, with a particular emphasis on understanding their functional roles in diseases caused by bacterial pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and viruses including flaviviruses (such as Zika and Dengue), HIV, and SARS-CoV-2.