- The MMP facilitates shared information from experts about clinical study design, advanced technology, new techniques, standard operating procedures, and relevant collaborations across fields of study.
- The University of Chicago is a leader in the area of microbiome research with over 70 investigators of the Microbiome Medicine program who are engaged in studies of human and mammalian microbiomes (GI tract, lung, oral cavity, skin, etc). The MMP brings together basic scientists and clinicians to promote translational science research to understand how microbiomes impact and can be used to benefit both human health and disease. Researchers are also working on developing more effective pre-, pro-, and postbiotics, fecal microbial transplant, engineered microbial sensors through synthetic biology, and microbiome-based biotherapeutics (e.g. immunomodulatory agents, cancer, prevention/treatment of diet-induced obesity, T2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases, cardiovascular diseases, etc). Our research spans from clinical trials and studies to basic sciences of microbial genomics and function.
- The Microbiome Medicine Program is supported by core laboratories and facilities which include: (1) clinical/translational pipelines for clinical trials, studies, and sample acquisition; (2) the largest gnotobiotic mouse facility in the US, (3) metabolomics, (4) intestinal organoids technologies that include over 300 human-derived gut organoid lines, (5) bioinformatic and computational support for analysis of large data sets of microbiome and host, (6) next generation DNA sequencing at 3 locations, the University of Chicago and two of its affiliates, Argonne National Laboratory and the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, and (7) the partnership with the Duchossois Family Institute, recently established through a $100M gift, to study and leverage discovery of the human microbiome to promote human health and quality of life and to prevent disease.
- MMP investigators have a large collective portfolio of NIH, federal, and other extramural grants directly related to the study of human and mammalian microbiomes. Many of these involve team science approaches, which is an important part of the interactive and collaborative culture at the University of Chicago.