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Assembly of the Infant Microbiome

The goals of this project include improving our understanding of the microbes that colonize infants at birth, as well as the ecological and evolutionary forces that shape those communities as they mature into stable, resilient communities later in life.

Read the preprint on bioRxiv:
Microbiota Assembly, Structure, and Dynamics Among Tsimane Horticulturalists of the Bolivian Amazon. Daniel D. Sprockett, Melanie Martin, Elizabeth K. Costello, Adam Burns, Susan P. Holmes, Michael Gurven, David A. Relman (2019) Submitted.

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Heritable Features in the Salivary Microbiome

Through a collaboration with the Department of Twins Research at King’s College, London, I am identifying heritible features of the salivary microbiome.

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The Microbiome in Very Early-Onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Very Early-Onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease (VEO-IBD) is chronic and recurrent inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract diagnosed in children under the age of 6.

The disease that develops in these very young patients often differs from older children or adults, both in terms of its tissue involvement and severity, making diagnosis and treatment more difficult. Furthermore, VEO-IBD patients often don’t respond to therapies used in adult IBD.

The communities of bacteria that live in in the gut of small children often have different composition than those that live in adults, and these differences could impact VEO-IBD disease course, as well as how they respond to treatment. Therefore, we are exploring the role of the oral and intestinal microbiome in this rare childhood disease which will pave the way for better diagnostics and treatments.

For more information, please check out the study website.

Sampling Instructional Video:

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