Developing Model-Guided Frameworks to Dissect Butyrate Production in the Human Gut Microbiota
This project will examine ecological interactions and environmental factors that influence butyrate production in the gut microbiome.
Contributions of Gut Microbes to Alzheimer’s Disease
This research will test whether Alzheimer’s disease is caused, or at least influenced, by the gut microbiome.
A Germ-free Mouse Facility for the UW–Madison Community
This project funds creation of a germ-free facility that will provide services for the whole UW-Madison community. It proposes a partnership with Laboratory Animal Research (LAR) within the School of Medicine and Public Health to build and manage a facility that meets the needs of the campus.
The UW–Madison Microbiotron: A Modular Experimental Platform to Crack Open the Plant Soil Microbial Black Box
This project will fund development of a soil “Microbiotron” — a modular system of 48 soil-plant incubation chambers, each individually instrumented and controlled by a centralized system.
Gut Brain Communication: How a Resident Microbe in the Brain Prevents Weight Gain in Animals Fed a High Fat Diet
This project funds research to look at asymptomatic infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which occurs in about 33 percent of the world’s population (but used to occur in nearly 100 percent. Toxoplasma results in fat malabsorption and reduced weight gain irrespective of diet.
The Microbiome Hub: Enabling a Biological Revolution at UW–Madison
The Microbiome Hub will provide the means for researchers in diverse fields at UW-Madison, who have no training in microbiology or bioinformatics, to routinely examine the microbiome in their studies.
Gut Microbial Metabolism and Host Epigenetic States
Comparing “germ free” and colonized mice on defined diets, this project will explore how gut microbes alter the levels of circulating metabolites, specifically essential nutrient choline, and how these dynamic metabolites alter the host’s epigenome.