Exploiting human gut microbiome in mucus to combat pathogens

This project seeks to address fundamental questions on the spatial adaptation and glycan metabolism of gut symbionts using in silico and in vivo approaches.

The human body harbours a diverse and dense population of commensal bacteria which exert key functions in terms of human health. However, the development of microbiome-targeted therapies to restore human health is currently hampered by a lack of mechanistic understanding of bacterial metabolism at the strain and niche level therefore limiting targeted approaches to achieve a clinically-desired effect. This work will harness mechanisms of adaptation of key human gut symbionts to mucus to explore mucin glycan metabolism as novel strategies to limit pathogen infection.