The Michigan Microbiome Project is developing in response to growing appreciation of the positive impact that microbes can have on human health. We have known for a long time that some bacteria are pathogens, causing serious diseases. But now we are learning how many others are pivotal in preserving and improving our health.
Recognition of the far-reaching effects that gut bacteria can have on health and disease throughout the body led to this program of basic research that, with the collaboration of other scientists at the University of Michigan, will translate into benefits for patients and the public at large.
The goal of the Michigan Microbiome Project is to engineer the gut microbiome to improve human health. We seek to elucidate principles underlying the structure, functions and dynamics of microbial communities in the human gut, and use them to manage the communities for beneficial outcomes.
To achieve this mission, we are helping students, scientists, physicians and engineers from across the university combine their interests and expertises to unravel the mysteries of the gut microbial world.
Attracted by the accelerating progress in the study of human microbiomes, I joined the University of Michigan in 2013. Please feel free to contact me with ideas, questions or suggestions about how we might better lead the way to discoveries in the incredible world of host-associated microbes.