Your gut contains a complex community of bacteria, fungi, and viruses (collectively called the ‘microbiome’), which emerging research has shown can influence a wide array of aspects of your health—ranging from whether you are obese, to whether you have have heart disease, or are depressed.
Dr. Lozupone’s research lab in the Department of Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus works with clinicians to study the gut microbiome in the context of a variety of diseases, including with HIV infection, Autism Spectrum Disorders, asthma, and in cancer patients undergoing stem cell transplant. She discussed this research and also more generally, what has been learned over the past several years about the typical composition of the gut microbiome and how it is influenced by factors such as age and diet.
For more information: Lozupone Lab, University of Colorado School of Medicine