Research
Our research focuses on understanding how diet and the gut microbiome interact to influence human health and disease. By combining human studies with mechanistic approaches, we aim to uncover how microbial communities affect immune and gastrointestinal function and translate these discoveries into innovative dietary and microbiome-based therapeutic strategies.
Food is one of the most powerful levers we have to reshape the gut microbiome, and we want to know how. We characterize the interactions between specific dietary components — fibers, metabolites, and nutrients — and microbial communities to develop evidence-based nutritional interventions. This work supports our broader goal of using diet as a scalable, accessible therapy for GI and metabolic health.
Our lab characterizes the bacteria that inhabit the human gut, examining their biology, behavior, and the roles they play in health and disease. By understanding how microbes function individually and as communities, we identify strains with the potential to become live bacterial therapeutics. This microbial insight forms the foundation of our drug development pipeline.
We examine how the host — through immune, metabolic, and physiological pathways — responds to and shapes both diet and the gut microbiome. This three-way relationship between host, diet, and microbes is central to understanding chronic GI conditions and identifying points of therapeutic intervention. Our research integrates host biology into every stage of our translational pipeline, from bacteria to bedside.
Ongoing Clinical Studies
This research study aims to building a general gut microbiome biobank. The primary purpose of the study is to enroll adult participants, sequence and characterize their gut microbiomes, collect health and symptom information, and store samples and data to inform future research and therapies. As an optional secondary pathway, some participants may be screened and, if qualified, may choose to become stool donors. Donated stool from qualified donors may be used to help develop microbiota transplantation therapy (MTT), a treatment that uses stool from a healthy donor to help restore a sick person's gut health.This research study is looking for up to 200 people for the general biobank (part one), and 5-10 people who qualify as stool donors (part two) and live near the Stanford Campus.
Inclusion: Any person aged 18-80 years. In good general health as evidenced by medical history. Ability to travel to donation facility on a weekly basis. Residence within 5 miles of Stanford Campus.
Exclusion: N/A
Take the survey →