Welcome to the Department of Physiology & Pharmacology

Over the past 3 years, Dr. Claire Arreita's research group has made significant strides in understanding the early-life gut microbiome, with a particular focus on the ecological mechanisms governing the establishment of the gut microbiome, as well the role of the understudied gut mycobiome on early-life health. These advances are driven by the outstanding work of our students and postdoctoral researchers, whose contributions have been central to our recent publications.

1. Gut Mycobiome and Metabolic Health: Led by Dr. Mackenzie Gutierrez, our Nature Communications study established a causal link between core fungal species in the gut and host metabolic health. By integrating human cohort data with experimental models, this work provided critical mechanistic insights into how fungi interact with bacterial communities and host metabolism, expanding our understanding of the gut microbiome beyond bacteria.
2. Microbiome Maturation in Infancy:
   • Under the leadership of Emily Mercer (PhD student), our Microbiome paper presented a longitudinal analysis of bacterial and fungal microbiome development during the first year of life. The study demonstrated that bacterial and fungal communities follow distinct maturational patterns, influenced by inter-kingdom interactions and infant nutrition, with implications for long-term health.
   • Building on this, Mackenzie Emily led our Cell Reports Medicine study, which revealed that early-life gut mycobiome trajectories are associated with infant body mass index. This work underscores the role of the mycobiome in metabolic programming and highlights the need to consider fungal communities in developmental microbiome research.
   • Our Cell Host & Microbe study, spearheaded by Dr. Jumana Samara, examined the impact of probiotic supplementation on gut microbiome maturation in extremely preterm infants. The findings demonstrated that a probiotic mixture accelerated microbiome development while reducing intestinal inflammation, contributing to the growing body of evidence supporting targeted microbiome interventions in neonatology. This work is part of the BLOOM Study a birth cohort study led by our lab studying the microbiome and health outcomes of infants born premature.
3. Reviewing Key Concepts in Microbiome Science:
   • Dr. Thaís Glatthardt and Dr. Erik van Tilburg Bernardes led our Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology review, exploring the role of the mycobiome in the atopic march and how early fungal exposures may shape allergic disease risk.
   • In Trends in Molecular Medicine, Dr. Parizadeh reviewed the global landscape of gut microbiome research, examining how lifestyle and diet shape microbial diversity across populations.
   • Finally, Emily Mercer and I co-authored a Gut Microbes review critically assessing the current state of probiotics in neonatal care, emphasizing research gaps and future directions for improving gut health in preterm infants.

These studies reflect the dedication and innovation of our research team, highlighting the growing recognition of the gut mycobiome as a key player in health and disease. We are excited to continue building on these findings and mentoring the next generation of microbiome researchers.

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