Grant: Foundation Grant

Humans have evolved with microbes. Although a subset of microbes have long been known to cause infectious diseases, there is growing appreciation of the critical role they play in health and chronic diseases. This new development also opens up powerful opportunities to find new ways of treating diseases and improving health outcomes. To this end, my lab has been studying how Salmonella and pathogenic E. coli cause diarrhea and related diseases, using new techniques to gain a much more comprehensive understanding of these diseases. Moreover, we have found that normal microbial inhabitants of the gut - the microbiome - can be used to inhibit these pathogens, thus we are pursuing these as potential therapeutics. We have also shown that certain early life microbes can affect the risk of asthma, and these are being explored as potential asthma preventatives. This work is being expanded to related food allergies, especially in the context of very early life gut microbes. A novel mouse model has been developed for malnutrition and an associated intestinal disease (environmental enteropathy). This model will allow us to gain a better understanding of these worldwide problems, as well as to test new products that can then be used to prevent these diseases. Recently, we have begun to explore the gut-brain axis in the context of microbes affecting brain function in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's/dementia. Exciting preliminary data indicate that the microbiomes in these patients are different, and we have new experiments planned to mechanistically probe this initial finding. Important next steps include the development of clinical tools that can be used to decrease these brain diseases. I am proposing a compelling and ambitious program to study these host-microbe interactions. Collectively, this research has significant potential to impact on many major Canadian health issues, including intestinal infections, asthma and allergies, malnutrition and degenerative brain diseases.