Microbiome and Nutrition

The complex community of bacteria, yeasts and viruses living in our intestines, collectively known as the gut microbiome, is shaped, in part, by what we eat. Genetics, environment, and other factors also influence an individual’s microbial community. Research at the NRI investigates these complex relationships and their impact on disease risk. We use animal models and bioinformatics to study the associations between nutritional metabolites, gut microbiome, and health. What happens in the gut doesn’t stay in the gut. Your microbiome can play a role in cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes, and even cancer. Our team envisions a future where analysis of your microbiome can determine disease risk, and medical foods can be prescribed to treat and prevent disease by regulating the microbiome.

Publications

 

Microbiome and Nutrition Publications

2020

Population studies of TMAO and its precursors may help elucidate mechanisms. Meyer K

2019

Association of dietary patterns with the gut microbiota in older, community-dwelling men.  Meyer K

The impact of early-life sub-therapeutic antibiotic treatment (STAT) on excessive weight is robust despite transfer of intestinal microbes.  Sumner S

Protein Intake at Twice the RDA in Older Men Increases Circulatory Concentrations of the Microbiome Metabolite Trimethylamine-N-Oxide (TMAO).  Zeisel S

2018

Meta-analysis of human genome-microbiome association studies: the MiBioGen consortium initiative.  Meyer K

Human microbiota, blood group antigens, and disease.  Sumner S

2017

Dietary Choline and Betaine and Risk of CVD: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies.  Meyer K

A Microbiomic Analysis in African Americans with Colonic Lesions Reveals Streptococcus sp.VT162 as a Marker of Neoplastic Transformation.  Sumner S

Metabolic profiling of a chronic kidney disease cohort reveals metabolic phenotype more likely to benefit from a probiotic.  Sumner S

Trimethylamine N-Oxide, the Microbiome, and Heart and Kidney Disease.  Zeisel S

2016

Microbiota-Dependent Metabolite Trimethylamine N-Oxide and Coronary Artery Calcium in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study (CARDIA).  Meyer K

Diet and Gut Microbial Function in Metabolic and Cardiovascular Disease Risk.  Meyer K

Antibiotic-mediated gut microbiome perturbation accelerates development of type 1 diabetes in mice. Sumner S

Related News

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February 18, 2016 • The greedy metabolism of cancer cells to target kidney cell carcinomas, which kill more than 100,000 Americans each year, has been exploited by researchers. The team showed that the majority of renal cell cancers rewire their metabolism in a way that leaves them addicted to the nutrient cystine. By depriving the cancer cells of cystine, the researchers were able to trigger a form of cell death called necrosis in tumor cells.

Pregnancy, Drinking and Diet: Consider "Whole Health" When Pregnant

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Dr. Philip May on Time Warner Cable News

February 17, 2016 • Watch an interview with Dr. Philip May on Time Warner Cable News. Dr. May is an expert in the field of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and the epidemiology of a number of health-related behaviors.

An Interview with Dr. Ideraabdullah

February 17, 2016 • Folami Iderraabdullah is an assistant professor in the Department of Genetics in the UNC School of Medicine and a researcher at the Nutrition Research Institute in Kannapolis. Her research looks at the genetic differences between individuals to determine how the cells in the body respond to changes in diet.

February 2016

Teen Cognition Improves with Choline The Zeisel laboratory at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute (NRI) is well known for defining the importance of the nutrient choline in infant brain development. They discovered that choline in mother’s diet during pregnancy is...

Teen Cognition Improves with Choline

February 1, 2016 • The Zeisel laboratory at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute (NRI) is well known for defining the importance of the nutrient choline in infant brain development. They discovered that choline in mother’s diet during pregnancy is extremely important for optimal brain development in her baby. But, is this the only time in life that choline can improve brain function? Could teenagers eat extra choline to help their school performance?