An international team of researchers, including scientists from the Institute for Systems Biology, has conducted one of the most comprehensive molecular studies of human diversity to date. Published in Cell, the work reveals how ethnicity and geography influence metabolism, immunity, the microbiome, and biological aging — insights that could help advance precision medicine for diverse populations.
New research from ISB’s Gibbons Lab shows that computer models of gut metabolism can predict whether probiotics will successfully establish in an individual’s microbiome and how dietary prebiotics shape health-related molecules in the gut. The findings point toward a future of more personalized, predictable microbiome-based interventions.
ISB researchers examined the associations between the gut microbiomes of about 3,400 people and roughly 150 host characteristics. The team looked at diet, medication use, clinical blood markers, and other lifestyle and clinical factors, and found evidence that variations of the gut microbiome are associated with health and disease.