New Paper: Divergent maturational patterns of the infant bacterial and fungal gut microbiome in the first year of life are associated with inter-kingdom community dynamics and infant nutrition

Congratulations to our Platform 2 Co-Lead Dr. Marie-Claire Arrieta on this recent publication! Abstract Background The gut microbiome undergoes primary ecological succession over the course of early life before achieving ecosystem stability around 3 years of age. These maturational patterns have been well-characterized for bacteria, but limited descriptions exist for other microbiota members, such as fungi. […]

New Paper: Maternal smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of gut microbiome-associated childhood overweight and obesity

Congratulations to our Platform 2 Lead Dr. Anita Kozyrskyj on this recent publication! Abstract Childhood obesity is linked to maternal smoking during pregnancy. Gut microbiota may partially mediate this association and could be potential targets for intervention; however, its role is understudied. We included 1,592 infants from the Canadian Healthy Infants Longitudinal Development Cohort. Data […]

New Paper: Longitudinal assessment of bacterial vaginosis prior to and during incident pregnancy: an observational study in Kenyan adolescent girls and young women

Congratulations to our Platform 4 Lead Dr. Laura Sycuro on this recent publication! Abstract Objective: To determine bacterial vaginosis (BV) status at multiple time points among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) and assess the impact of pregnancy on their BV status. Design: Longitudinal cohort study. Setting: Thika, Kenya. Participants: AGYW aged 16–20 years enrolled prior to first […]

New Paper: Multidrug-resistant E. coli encoding high genetic diversity in carbohydrate metabolism genes displace commensal E. coli from the intestinal tract

Congratulations to our Education & Mentorship Co-Lead Dr. Braedon McDonald on this recent publication! Abstract Extra-intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) can cause a variety of infections outside of the intestine and are a major causative agent of urinary tract infections. Treatment of these infections is increasingly frustrated by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) diminishing the number of effective therapies […]

New Paper: Identifying Rare Genetic Determinants for Improved Polygenic Risk Prediction of Bone Mineral Density and Fracture Risk

Congratulations to our Platform 5 Lead Dr. Celia Greenwood on this recent publication! Abstract Osteoporosis and fractures severely impact the elderly population. Polygenic risk scores for bone mineral density have demonstrated potential clinical utility. However, the value of rare genetic determinants in risk prediction has not been assessed. With whole-exome sequencing data from 436,824 UK […]

New Paper: Gut Microbiome Composition Is Associated With Future Onset of Crohn’s Disease in Healthy First-Degree Relatives

Congratulations to our Platform 3 Lead Dr. Karen Madsen on this recent publication! Abstract Background & AimsThe cause of Crohn’s disease (CD) is unknown, but the current hypothesis is that microbial or environmental factors induce gut inflammation in genetically susceptible individuals, leading to chronic intestinal inflammation. Case-control studies of patients with CD have cataloged alterations […]