Research Projects
1. Effects of early life stressors on development
Microbes modulate host development, and microbial stressors impair early life transmission and alter developmental programs. We are studying these microbial-host conversations using mouse models and looking at metabolic and brain responses.
2. Breastfeeding and the infant microbiome
Breastfeeding protects against obesity and alleviates the impact of microbiome stressors on the baby. We are characterizing breastmilk and determining factors that alter the baby microbiome.
3. The microbiome of remote indigenous peoples
Urbanization decreases microbial diversity and is associated with reduced infectious diseases but increased immune and metabolic diseases. Millions of peoples globally are integrating urban practices in their lives. In a multidisciplinary team of with local scientists in Venezuela, we continue our decades-long relation with indigenous communities to study of the effect of increasing antimicrobial exposures on the structure and function of human microbiomes.
4. Vaginal seeding – Randomized Clinical trial
We collaborate with OBGYN and Public Health colleagues in an inter-institutional study on the effect of maternal vaginal microbes given to C-section-born neonates on both their microbiome maturation and health outcomes.
5. NJ ECHO Study
With a multidisciplinary Rutgers team, we examine the relationship between early microbiome stressors and upper and lower airway health in children, while contributing unique diversity to the larger ECHO cohort.